Two roads diverged in a wood...

I can't wait to take photos and upload them, but so far I have 2 out of 3 sets completed for the auction. My collection of handbound books is finished (although I am not totally happy with how they turned out, I made some poor color choices), as well as the set of three canvas art pieces that tie in together. The scarf is almost finished (that's really been taking me awhile) and I might make a couple extra small jewelry pieces, plus I'll decorate the box for the jewelry. If I'm lucky, it will all be completed tonight and you all will get to see it. I did get some of my business cards the other day, which was exciting. Now if only people would like my stuff and want to buy it... I'm eager to start posting things on Etsy.

With the advent of me devoting time to making art, as well as the contemplation of children, I feel like I am standing at a crossroads and I'm trying to delay the decision as long as possible. On one side, I enjoy my job and I'd like to stay there a while longer. I've also just submitted a paper for publication and I really enjoy research. Perhaps it's something I will continue to do. And even further down the road, I could contemplate my PhD. I might even continue to have more time for my art. That's probably a big "might". But the other path would lead me to having kids, which hubby and I have more seriously discussed lately. We both want them (well, at least one) and I look forward to staying home with my child, being able to cook more, and coming up with creative crafts for my kids. I like being home and cleaning and organizing. I like coming up with activities and places to go to keep my kids entertained and learning. But that would mean I'd have to quit my job, probably not even think about research or a PhD until I'm in my late 30s or 40s. And I may or may not get a chance to work on my art since I would technically be at home more often. But the arts and crafts that I do satisfies something in me, just like all my other hobbies and interests. I don't want to have no time for it. I like the world to be more organized, cleaner, and far more beautiful than when I entered. (Have you seen our house remodel photos?)

Hubby and I decided to at least continue to postpone kids for now, have some time to ourselves once our house guests leave. But then I had a startlingly vivid dream last night in which we had a baby boy named Brandon who weighed 5lbs 2 oz (tiny, I know). Everyone kept asking how much weight I had gained because I didn't look pregnant. I seemed surprised that I had had a baby, not to mention the fact that it was relatively easy in the dream. Too bad that can't be real life!

I'm not one to contemplate this over and over again, let it worry and stress me out. I trust that the future will bring me something I enjoy as long as I keep making decisions that make me happy. I just wonder which path I'm going to take. Or perhaps I can combine the two smaller paths into one wide road? Just a thought.

Arts & Crafts time!

I've been wanting to post a new update for over a week now but work and home have been extremely hectic. I'm trying to interview and hire several student workers for the lab, plus training the ones that are starting. Needless to say, this is taking up a lot of my time and energy, especially considering that a great deal of what I do is done without assistance from other staff members. That's another tirade I will not get into.

At home, we've been trying to finish up some little things here and there in the attic remodel while our houseguests are temporarily away (it was more of a vacation for us than our actual vacation was!). The window seats are almost complete which makes me really excited. In addition, I am trying to finish the various arts and crafts projects that I have committed to donating to my aunt's church auction in early October. I am working on a book set (handbound of course) which includes a large sketchbook, a very thick journal, and two small notepads. The sewing is pretty easy but I also just attempted my first endband sewing on the journal and it turned out pretty nice! I'm eager to try the different types of endbands now. I'm also in the midst of knitting a scarf (hopefully I can complete two), creating some pieces of jewelry, and creating three pieces of decoupage collage (mixed media) on canvas. I'm super excited about the last one because it's one of my favorite art mediums.

I am also thrilled to be creating these pieces for the auction because it gives me an excuse to finally set a name to my little arts and crafts business, plus make business cards to include with them. Now's the chance to get the word out! I'm eager to post pictures and show what the business card will look like, etc. I'll wait until I have it all together though. I'm also trying to get my website off the ground soon so that it can be included with this. I have an Etsy storefront that I will be utilizing though for my crafts. I definitely need to get a lot of work done on things this weekend!

Hubby and I will be going to the Pittsburgh Irish Festival this weekend and I'm thrilled (I'm trying to use other words besides "excited"!) because both Ceann and Gaelic Storm will be here this year (last year Ceann didn't attend). Plus I think there will be more vendors and we all know how I love my shopping....Ooh, and soda bread! Yum!

Sometimes vacation is harder than real life

So hubby and I have returned from our lovely vacation in Hilton Head. I did have internet access, but why would I wish to update my blog/Twitter/FB when I have the beach to appreciate? However, that DOES make it difficult to describe the trials & tribulations of vacation all in one post. Let's give it a go, shall we? "Concise" is my middle name's middle name.
The island itself is quite beautiful but all week, there was something nagging me that prevented me from loving Hilton Head as much as those people that put the HHI sticker on their cars. (Some stores give them away for free so I highly doubt everyone loves HHI enough, not even enough to buy the sticker!). It wasn't until our 5th day there that I realized, unless I am in my condo on the porch or on the beach itself, I can never see the beach! It's all trees and other houses, not even any restaurants capitalize on their location to provide guests with the opportunity to dine on the beach (I didn't find any). What's the point in going to the beach if I can't see it? OCMD has its drawbacks but at least I can see the beach, smell it, hear the seagulls. There were even very few birds where we were. Very relaxing I will admit, but just lacking something essential for me to wish to return.
Savannah, however, is a city that has captured my heart. I even looked up real estate prices, although sadly I do not have the 3 million dollars required to purchase one of those historic homes. And I would get annoyed over the thousands of tourists that invade the downtown historic district every day and night by trolley. I especially enjoyed River Street, which almost seems to have a London feel to it, despite my never having been to London.
All in all, most of the vacation went well. The negatives I will not dwell on, for I have already complained enough of them to close friends. I will admit I was upset that I didn't make it through all of my beach reads, but I only have a book and a half remaining. "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton was EXCELLENT and I highly recommend it. In fact, I started it right before we left for the beach and I finished it before we left for the beach. Her first novel, "The House at Riverton" did not hold my attention as well and I had difficulty finishing it. I persevered however and I would give it, oh, maybe a B-. Karen Marie Moning's eagerly awaited "Dreamfever" was also an A+ and of COURSE had to end on a cliffhanger. The final book of the 5-part series should be out next year probably around the same time, so I can't wait. I'm currently halfway through "The Devlin Diary" by Christi Phillips and enjoying it to this point. All that I have remaining is "The Time-Traveler's Wife" since so many people recommended it to me.
And of course, now that our vacation is over, I am already looking ahead to our numerous weekend trips planned for this fall! The desire to travel never ceases....I did miss our cats though. :)

Family Matters

With all of the conveniences that technology affords us, I think as a society we tend to focus on the positives far more than the negatives. But my current situation has me suddenly viewing the Internet in a whole new light and realizing how difficult it is to control information.

To sum up a very complex situation, my immediate family (parents, siblings) is not on speaking terms with the entire rest of my family (that's mostly my parents' fault, my siblings are too young to know about it). I, however, made a choice about 4 years ago to be involved with both sides under the condition that the rest of the family not learn anything about my immediate family. No news, no photos, no whereabouts, nothing. I am also not permitted to tell my younger siblings that they have other relatives. I will also be excommunicated if I do not abide by these rules and I would miss my siblings greatly. So up until now, the situation has been mostly without issues. The rest of the family respects this divide and I take care to have family members over only at certain times so their paths will not be crossed. I do not hang photos of any of my family (mostly). And I have been lucky in that my activities on FB and Twitter are not followed by my (mostly) technologically-inept relatives. But today that has changed.

My aunt, with whom I am very close, just joined FB and friended me. On one hand, I am extremely excited that she has joined the addictive community. But on the other, I have photos with siblings, am friends with other relatives that could complicate the situation, etc. I have been great at compartmentalizing my life into separate families, much as a child of divorced parents probably. But how do I do this on FB? I can't completely hide all aspects of my different lives from each other. And I'm tired of doing it. As my siblings get closer and closer to adulthood, I also have to ask myself, "Will I tell them about the rest of their family or not? Can I trust them with this knowledge? What will happen if my parents find out?" Oh, families.

Aviary Adventure!

Yesterday I took my sister to the National Aviary on Pittsburgh's North Side in honor of her upcoming 15th birthday. I just found out from my mom that my sis Briona loves penguins (which I do as well!). I had heard of their new exhibit with 11 African penguins (they used to only have 5 with no real exhibit to showcase them on a daily basis aside from programs) and was planning on going with the hubby to play with a penguin. For only $40 a person, you can attend a "Penguin Connection". Basically, you get a 30-40 minute tour of some behind-the-scenes areas and the exhibit, during which you are educated on penguins in general and the ones at the Aviary. For the final 20-30 minutes, you get to meet one of their penguins; pet him/her, give it toys, watch it eat a snack, and basically interact with it. I was jumping at the chance to do this so I imagined that my sister would like it too.

In hindsight, I think she liked the trip but note to self: She is not as daring or as bold as some of us other siblings. For a while there I worried that she wouldn't even pet him, at which point I would've been displeased to have shelled out the $40. But she did and I think she liked it. Unfortunately for us, it was a VERY warm day (over 90 degrees) and although Elvis (our penguin) was inside an air-conditioned classroom with us for our meet-and-greet, the general malaise for the day could not be put off. He didn't mind us petting him, but only for a short time. He didn't want a snack or to play with toys. In fact, the only thing he really wanted to do was climb into the trainer's lap and show her such affection that you'd think he was humping her! It was rather entertaining and adorable though. Also, they sound like donkeys! They bray just like asses, haha...

The rest of the Aviary was quite extraordinary. I haven't really been a big fan of birds in the past, but perhaps that is only because I've been around canaries which are as dumb as doornails (or so I'm told). The feeding times were impressive just because of the routines the birds have down pat and they put on quite a show for the crowds. I will definitely have to bring the hubby back. The penguin exhibit also did not disappoint. They are very curious animals and they will stare at you through the glass and even splash you a little. The trainer told us that sometimes they put penguin-friendly pool toys into the penguin pool and I can only imagine how entertaining that must be to watch them have at it! Just as fun as watching the polars bears play with giant beach balls at the PPG Zoo and Aquarium. Glad I live in city with lots of opportunities to interact with such creatures.

Now if only I could volunteer to be a penguin trainer, I'll be set....

Melancholy Evening

Last night was sort of odd in terms of mood. I'd forgotten how painful and heartbreaking it is to visit the animal shelter in the midst of summer; cats crammed into tiny cages, listless and silently going crazy. They're all hoping for a home and yet it's not likely that they will all get one, let alone in the next few days. They will have to endure months of cramped cage life, sicknesses, and hopeful encounters with adopters who reject them. I stopped volunteering last year and instead became a foster parent. A whole different set of difficulties, but one in which I am not faced with a sea of cats that I can't assist except to give them 15 minutes of cuddle time and clean their cage up. I can nurse them back to health, play with them for hours, and fatten them up with lots of treats. They get a whole room to romp in and a window to hog. But once they're all better or ready to go back to the shelter, it's even harder to put them back into that tiny cage. They don't understand why. And the ones that we get attached to and keep (1 so far) and the ones that nobody else wants and we keep to prevent them being bounced around foster homes for the next couple of years (1 so far) make it all the harder to continue doing. And you just hope and pray that someone sees what you see in them.
The shelter we assist is absolutely full so I went last night to pick up a foster, just to free up cage space. I usually make the husband go but he had other plans. The sweet little girl I left with definitely needs attention and some fattening, and hopefully will enjoy the company of the other foster girl hanging out in our office. But I can't help but think of all the other ones still waiting for homes.
As you know, I live in Pittsburgh and so the news was completely occupied by the shootings in an L.A. Fitness. Horrifying and absolutely disgusting that that man would hope (on his blog) that this will make people better understand people like him, who are desperate for a partner. There is no way to better understand you. It's a full moon this evening as my yoga teacher pointed out several times. Maybe there is something to the full moon bringing out the crazy people.

Now that I have finally finished school for a while, I'm really excited for the upcoming months. I have so many things to do! The hubby and I are nearly finished remodeling our attic and beautifying it (thank goodness because we are about to keel over from exhaustion). Our vacation in Hilton Head SC is coming up soon and I would like to do more than just sleep. But I will finally have time to bind a few handmade journals for my aunt's church auction, perhaps knit a scarf or two. I also have a special project cleaning, resewing, and binding old hymnals for her church so that they have one complete copy. That's going to take a while though. My training for the 10k in Pittsburgh has fallen behind but I have a sudden interest in Yoga and Pilates again so I'm sure you will hear all about that (last night's class was almost too slow for me), or perhaps spinning. And I still want to get my website up and running as I learn how to program from the hubby. I know, I know, I am a busy busy woman. No wonder I don't have the attention span or patience to sit through movies. And yesterday I had a burning desire to take a class on cake decorating...