Showing posts with label Jesse Tree. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesse Tree. Show all posts

Monday, December 06, 2010

Reverb 10: Day 6 - Made

Today's Reverb 10 prompt:

December 6 – Make.

What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?
(Author: Gretchen Rubin)

Well, if microwaving some dinner counts, then the last thing I made was a delicious bowl of Italian Wedding Soup.

Prior to that I made a bed at mom and dad's that I hadn't made when I crawled out of it this morning.

And prior to that I made a "to do" list for the time once work ended, and before bedtime came.

But, if we're talking about things that actually require crafting something by hand, the last thing I made was a set of Jesse Tree ornaments to help mark the days of Advent.

I used these printables that were made available at Ann Voskamp's beautiful blog.

I spent two evenings at the very end of November sitting on my bedroom floor, with a dvd playing in the background, and scraps from various scrapbook projects spread out on the floor around me.

Colorful paper.

Varying fibres and embellishments.

Buttons.  I used quite a few buttons.  Some purchased for scrapbooking, some recycled from other projects or pieces of clothing.

Many of the bits and pieces were things that had been sitting in boxes of supplies for ages, now finding a use in a way to mark off the days of Advent.

The countdown to the birth of a Savior. 

A good reason to spend some creativity, and to give old things a new purpose.

~~~

As a side note, today's prompt was written by Gretchen Rubin, and I just recently finished her book, The Happiness Project, and loved it.  It was a truly unique combination of memoir and self-help book, and well worth the read.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 106

Today's Daily 5:
  1. A productive morning
  2. eating yummy leftovers for lunch
  3. our boss stopping by with a dessert treat for us
  4. starting work early means finishing work early
  5. a leisurely hot shower
  6. quiet evening
  7. finishing up the Jesse Tree ornaments and hanging the first one
  8. watching the latest episode of The Amazing Race

Monday

My body has still not adjusted sleep schedules to be working.  I'm still up too late every night, and mornings come sort of painfully early.

But, it's something of a consolation to know that when I get to work, it's an office without the painful and constant tensions and frustrations of the job that ended in the spring.  That when I get here, the phone calls I make won't be from people with grievances, but from people who are delighted to hear from me, because I'm the person calling to tell them that they're going to be able to provide gifts for their kids this Christmas.

This morning I have an aching neck, and a scraped up forearm.  Last night I was hanging a string from my ceiling, while standing on a chair.  A string on which to hang the Jesse Tree Advent ornaments I spent last night (and most likely tonight) creating.  Unfortunately, with my usual athletic grace (have I mentioned that I tend to be sarcastic?) I managed to overbalance myself, and nearly fall off the chair.  I jerked my neck (again, no surprise there, either.  I have unique neck injuring skills.) and scraped a bunch of skin off of my right forearm as I careened downward while attempting to at least land on my feet.

In the meantime, I'm sitting here for a few moments in my office, before the usual maelstorm of crazy begins.  Christmas, it seems, is a little bit crazy around here.  I have a mug of pomegranate green tea.  I've managed to eat a little bit of breakfast, and I'm getting ready to wince as I hear just how many voicemails came in over the weekend, waiting for call-backs from me. 

But it's quiet, and I'm feeling peaceful.  And that's worth being thankful for.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 105

Today's Daily 5:
  1. 1 year, 105 days of making these lists
  2. sleeping late
  3. Starbucks from a friend
  4. Painting pottery at a local shop with a friend and talking as we painted
  5. recognizing growth
  6. visiting a dollar store with mom and finding the items I was hunting for
  7. laughing over the fact that the first advent candle that I was so dreading signifies hope
  8. sparkly tissue paper for wrapping a gift
  9. getting a ride home
  10. spending the evening being creative, and assembling the first half of the Jesse tree ornaments from this blog, for the way I've chosen to uniquely recognize Advent this year.  I printed the ornaments and sat on the floor of my bedroom for a couple hours with various scrapbook supplies scattered around me, making the ornaments unique and personal and pretty.
  11. a surprise few minutes of skype with a dear friend who is currently traveling
  12. recognizing growth and being surprised and blessed to discover it
  13. sitting here, propped in bed, and staring at the map of the world and "wall of happy" across from me
  14. taking time to paint my fingernails
  15. a weekend that was primarily quiet and full of restful things
  16. escapist television on dvd
  17. a mug of tea
  18. sweet smelling oil in my oil burner
  19. making choices out of care and restraint
  20. finding reasons to laugh, and feel joy