chatter

I had lunch with H yesterday. She wanted to ask for my (freelancing) help on a video project she is doing. She needs 3D texturing help. I think I told her no in so many words.

I used a segue of my issues with free time as the reason I don’t freelance. I get bitter with the paid project that it is impacting the time I use (or even waste) for my projects. I realized at that moment what my problems with free time is.

I am betting of anyone I know who is a working mother, I have the more free-time as any of them. I specialize in it. H was oft trying to make me feel bad or something every time I mentioned organizing my iTunes library or doing an art project since she apparently didn’t structure her time like I did. I never felt guilty that I made time for the stuff I like doing.

While I often feel bad about our small crappy house and jealous about anyone else’s big wonderful house, this crappy house with its low mortgage can afford me my toys, uh, tools to be creative and play artist.

While I often feel bad or guilty that Hollace is an only child and I could of easily had more children since I am apparently am built for it and RAW stays home so child care is figured out and cheap. One child is less a drain on time. Especially a kid like Hollace who is happy being on her own. Now, I don’t neglect her but she is especially now at an age that she isn’t a big time commitment. Ok, I am trying to word this to not sound as bad as I think it does.

Moving on.

The choices of the house and size of my family make a direct impact on my ability to gather up lots of free time. Sure H and D for that matter, have only one kids and an affordable house (I assume) but they doesn’t have the same priorities or personalities to do what I do.

Now back to my lunch time revelation about free time. The more I make of it for myself, the more I want, the more I obsess about it. Its an addicting drug!

I took off on Monday since the house will be empty because while I obsess over free time, I also crave alone time. I often wonder when I am old and alone, I will regret craving alone time now.

Also this weekend is the end of Daylight Savings Time which means we gain an hour! And don’t you know this time junky will plan that hour out so it will be acknowledged.

Here I am posing by the photo I no longer own.

And getting overwhelmed with all that all I can and want and need to do.

I bought a new book on 3D modeling. I need to read it, but first I need to download the companion files since what I bought was for Kindle. But before I read it I need to finish Orange is the New Black. I started my tile magnets last night. Looking at them this morning I see what I need to do. Should I do a set of toast like I am right now or do other pictures too. Where are my magnets? Where is some sandpaper to file edges? Here is some steel wool, that won’t work but it should be sitting out like that–let me get a zip lock to store it in. Now I am in the kitchen, I should start the kale chips. How is the ricotta, any green spots? Good we can make ziti for dinner. I am hungry now, lets have cheese and sausage. I should put this arboro rice in the pantry. I hope I remember I have it so I can make rissoto again. Hmm, what is this in the pantry….oh there is the sour dough bread mix. Wonder if it is good. Ah back to the zip lock. Hmmm, I really need to rearrange the cabinet and deal with placement of casseroles, new bowls and those long plates. Ok, i guess that will work. Lets take the steel wool back. Oh better find out where to download those 3D book files. Lets put on some music. Hey I should make some photo jewelry from the kits I bought a couple years ago. Where is the sandpaper?

I open my car this morning to go to work and the first thing I notice is that it reeks of cigarettes. I then notice my flashlight and phone charger splitter on my seat. Then I notice the glove box and center console are wide open. Then I notice the GPS and the (brand new) iPhone charger are gone. The iPass and garage opener are still there as is the patio lights I need to take back to Target. Half way to work I realize my work badge (with new BooJee bead lanyard) is also gone. There are cigarette ashes on both seats.

I am pretty good with locking my doors but yesterday before dinner I did go out to the car for some reason that has escaped me, to look for something in the back seat. All I can remember is moving the lights I want to return to Target to the front seat but I know that isn’t the reason I went out there. Apparently I didn’t lock the door when I was done and some punk kids probably out flipping everyone’s car handles looking for unlocked cars to pick through. I wonder if they do this every night or just happened to come by the only night I wasn’t diligent enough to lock my doors.

Last night I after another round of elimination, I posted the finalists in contention for me to submit to CLC’s Juried Art Show. There are six I posted to FB. So far it is unanimous for the ‘Forks’ photo which is one I was voting for. A lot of good votes for the ‘Boats’ which is the other one I especially like.

I have until September 9th to decide.

Happy Friday. I am on vacation next week so I guess it is happier then most.

Yesterday I wore my bright yellow shirt and was called a sunshine from Steve so my closing line to him yesterday was that I was going to dress like a dark cloud tomorrow. So today I am dressed in mottled grey and black…and it is raining.

Last night I took Hollace in to get her hair turned purple. What a great mom huh. $75 buckerinos. At the last moment as Adam was prepping her hair both Hollace and I had the same thought, I wonder if school was going to have a problem with this. I did a frantic last minute search on their site for dress code and their stance on funky colored hair–nothing. Hopefully this isn’t an issue. I know it wasn’t in middle school but she is going to a school I don’t know the rules for yet.

I got rugs in the mail yesterday, one big one for the living room and two small ones for the bedroom. And a new dresser for Hollace’s room. It looks lovely albeit damaged. Hollace doesn’t like it, it doesn’t jive with her room arrangement. I don’t know what she was expecting. Tomorrow I will have to call about the damage so I better decide if we want a replacement or our money back. Originally I went back to amazon.com to for a replacement but their site said to take to post office (like it is a package?) and pay $87 that they would reimburse me for. Uh, no, I am not dragging a piece of furniture to the post office. It didn’t come to me that way, it came by delivery truck and that is the way it is going back.

What an eventful week it was for the country. It started on Monday with the bombing at the Boston Marathon, killing 3 and injuring over an hundred other, many with lost limbs. Horrible and tragic.

By Wednesday in my friend Tonya’s small town in Texas–West, Texas–a fertilizer factory exploding flattening a quarter of the town. They are still counting their dead, so far 15 have been confirmed, most of them first responders. Over a hundred have been hurt there.

Also on Wednesday the rains began in the Chicago area. Two full days of torrential rain fall (up to 9 inches in some areas, our rain gauge says 3″) took its toll with massive flooding. They kept showing Fox Lake on the news that mom finally called and asked if we were under water. Nope, not too bad here.

On Thursday evening, the FBI released pictures of Monday’s Boston bombing suspects. By Friday morning we awoke with major developments in the case that suspect 1 was dead, like in swiss cheese, in a dramatic shootout over night. Suspect #2 was on the run. It sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie.

Friday, the whole city of Boston was on lock down and no sign of the bad dude. By Friday evening, more gun fire as a badly injured 19 year old hiding in a backyard boat is found. By 8pm (my timezone) he is taken in custody alive but in bad shape. It should be interesting to hear the details once they come out.

The Boston story so totally overshadowed the Texas one. Both stories very tragic (my thoughts going out to everyone touched by either one). The news media was besides its self with all this “good material” that they were tripping over themselves.

As you can see it was a very eventful week. I guess because of it, the week flew by so fast I was caught off guard that it is now the weekend.