I'm a sucker for these things
Rather than e-mail this along, I thought I’d just post these silly questions here for your possible passive reading pleasure…
1. Do you like blue cheese? yes, especially on salads
2. Have you ever smoked? only a few cigars
3. Do you own a gun? no
4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? something red
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointment? sometimes
6. What do you think of hot dogs? yum, with sauerkraut
7. Favorite Christmas movie? The Bishop’s Wife
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? coffee, some mornings
9. Can you do push ups? I haven’t tried in years
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? my engagement ring and the blue topaz studs Bret gave me for Christmas
11. Favorite hobby? paper crafts
12. Do you have A.D.D.? nope
13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? yes, glasses
14. Middle name? Leigh
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I hope Natalie’ not getting sick; I love“The Parent Trap” (it’s on in the other room); my oatmeal’s now cold
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water and tea
17. Current worry? That Natalie and Bret are going to get the cold I’m recovering from
18. Current hate right now? congestion
19. Favorite place to be? Anywhere with Bret and Natalie, especially home
20. How did you bring in the new year? with sleep
21. Where would you like to go? right now: the shower; someday: Europe (Italy, Spain, Ireland) and Alaska
22. Name three people who will complete this: not sure three people will read this…
23. What color shirt are you wearing? bright green
24. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? no, bamboo is nicer
26. Can you whistle? yes
27. Favorite color? celery green
28. Would you be a pirate? no — I’m not a fan of the open sea or rum
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? hymns if any
30. Favorite girl’s name? Natalie
31. Favorite boy’s name? Benjamin and Patrick
32. What’s in your pocket right now? a used tissue
34. What vehicle do you drive? 1999 Mercury Mystique
35. Worst injury you’ve ever had? a twisted foot/pulled arch that now causes hip problems
36. Do you love where you live? absolutely
37. How many TVs do you have in your house? one
Random tidbits from this week
- I’m giddy because it smells, feels, and looks like it’s going to rain soon.
- I just now had something from a top shelf in a closet fall onto my head. I thought that only happened in movies. (It was a bag of paper boxes, so no damage done.)
- Yesterday, I geeked out over Natalie’s brand-new Fuzzi Bunz diapers. They’re so pretty and soft!
- I nearly told a painter all about my day. His head appeared in my living-room window as he was painting color samples on the front of our house. I’d just gotten Natalie down for a really late nap and was so relieved that she fell asleep that I nearly bombarded the unsuspecting fellow with details of my at-home adventures.
- I’ve made more than 70 Christmas cards to date (60 of them are for The Spotted Box).
Behold the Green Lantern ... limited time only
We recently had our house painted (it’s not quite as bright in reality as it looks in this photo)...
If you are aware of my penchant for the color green, you’re no doubt assuming that I chose the color of our house. Well, the truth is that Bret and our neighborhood’s homeowners association (HOA) board president chose the color scheme.
However, the rest of the HOA board members did not like the colors (neither did they like the fact that the board president didn’t run the scheme by them), so they’re repainting our house in the near future (they have to vote on new appropriate color schemes).... Fortunately, we don’t have to pay anything out of our pockets.
In the meantime, our house has been quite the conversation piece. I had no idea people could have so many opinions about a house color! We’ve heard many a suggestion on what would look better (thanks, mom), and we’ve had many friends proclaim that they love the colors and that the board doesn’t know what’s good for the neighborhood (thanks everyone).
Anyway, our house is still our home, and green is still my favorite color…
Crop rotation
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve not been writing very much. It’s true in every aspect and outlet of my life—not just this blog. I haven’t journaled or even written in Natalie’s baby book. Neither have I freelanced as much as I assumed I would at this point in my life/career.
Until I e-mailed a friend about God revealing the seeds of a future direction in our lives, I had been having a difficult time understanding the nature of change in my life. How could I just stop writing? I’ve been writing for so many years. The seed analogy planted a seed of its own: Perhaps this stoppage of writing can best be explained as crop rotation of my talents.
At the time I wrote to my friend, I’d been wrestling with being in a place where my endeavors seemed rather insignificant—shallow, even—in comparison to what I had previously been employed to do and what I aspire to do one day. At the same time, I have to remember that I’m doing the most significant job anyone can hope to do: raising a child. I know there’s much more inspiration and aspiration growing inside me, and now is the season to give my writing a rest.
When that thought occurred to me a couple of months ago, I was intrigued and briefly researched the definition of crop rotation and fallow (when I searched Wikipedia for the latter, it directed me to the former).
From Wikipedia:
“Crop rotation or crop sequencing is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same space in sequential seasons for various benefits such as to avoid the build up of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped. Crop rotation also seeks to balance the fertility demands of various crops to avoid excessive depletion of soil nutrients. ... Crop rotation can also improve soil structure and fertility by alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted plants.”
There we have it. Dissimilar types of crops (writing and crafting) in the same space (me/my time) in sequential seasons (four years of college education focused on journalism and six years as a journalist giving way to time at home raising Natalie and nurturing inspiration in a different way) ...
I’m not sure about the build up of pathogens and pests specifically—cynicism, ego, selfish ambition were certainly pesky weeds that I had to uproot often, but they can be found in just about any field.
Balance—I was happy to see that word in the Wikipedia entry. I feel balanced right now with regard to creative outlets, something I’ve always needed. I’m excited to express myself visually not only through making greeting cards and other craft projects, but through photographing Natalie and our adventures as parents. If a photo is really worth a thousand words, then I’ve actually been quite a prolific writer… But I digress.
Coming to the crop-rotation realization felt good—it makes sense and gives me hope and ultimately frees me to enjoy what I’m doing right now.
Now open!
My Etsy store is now open! Check it out at rookspaperscissors.etsy.com.
I’ll be uploading cards and gifts as I make them, so keep checking the shop… There will also be a link and thumbnails of featured items on my craft blog.
A special thank you to everyone who’s encouraged me and supported this endeavor! I would not have gone out on this branch if it wasn’t for you.
Personality
I don’t put too much credence in personality tests, but they’re fun. When I last took the test (in college), I was an ENFJ, now I’m an INFJ, having more noticeably changed from Extroverted to Introverted (the other letters stand for iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging).
Some noteworthy INFJs include:
- Chaucer
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Billy Crystal
- Jerry Seinfeld
- Shirley Temple Black
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Here’s more of what my answers to some questions seem to say about me…
| You Are An INFJ |
 You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision – no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. In love, you truly see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow. You enjoy relationships as long as they are improving and changing. You can’t stand stagnation. At work, you stay motivated and happy… as long as you are working toward a dream you support. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful When other people don’t get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable |
5 seconds of fame
One of my cards was seen on a TV show! Get the full story here.
Summer pix
Here’s a visual teaser for some of the fun photos I posted on Natalie’s blog. Bret showed me how to put photos inside posts on this site, if they’re photos already online…
And, while I’m at it, here’s the RooksPaperScissors image that Bret came up with, and I’ll also share a photo of one of my cards that will be for sale on Etsy:
These photos and more are up on my craft blog: rookspaperscissors.blogspot.com.
Etsy favorites
In case you’re wondering what’s so great about Etsy, check out my “favorites,” which can be found at rookspaperscissors.etsy.com. It’s a good place to start, because it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the wonderful handmade items on Etsy. Also, this is the link to my upcoming store (I’m still moving toward an Aug. 1 grand opening). Plus, you now have access to a list of things you know I like … in case, you know, you want to buy me something … say, for my 30th birthday (Aug. 18) ... .
Thanks, Bret!
Bret finished drawing and perfecting the image for Rooks Paper Scissors. I love his sketch style, so it made sense to ask him to create my logo. Once it’s made into a rubber stamp, I can finish the sets of cards I’ve been making to sell on Etsy.
Other things topping my Etsy-launch to-do list include:
- build inventory (I’ve got more than a dozen sets of cards ready to sell)
- photograph inventory (I get to display up to five photos per item)
- write descriptions of each item
- finalize my store policies and welcome page
- create a store banner image
- set up PayPal account
- upload inventory
- announce my grand opening!
