carrie girl

oh geeze.

so when i called apple they told me my warranty had expired 4 days ago, and that they couldn't help me over the phone unless i paid them $49.  4 days?!?! so i called a place in town, and they said it could cost up to $700 to fix my computer.  i decided to call apple back and basically beg them to make an exception--i think i actually said, "i'm a public school teacher...i can't afford to fix this!!" at that point they transfered me to customer service, where a nice lady took pity on me and extended my warranty, so they'll fix it for free (sigh.) it is at an apple repair shop now, and hopefully i'll have it back by sometime next week. 

this has just been a crazy week--the school was flooded when i got to work this morning, we had to go into lock-down mode on wednesday because of a possible intruder, i found out i have two cavities (so embarrassing!) and my computer died.  surprisingly enough though, i'm in a pretty good mood.  i think it's because i am so close to the end of the school year, and we have a really good friend from new york coming to visit us for 10 days.  it's hard to get new yorkers to venture into the midwest for a visit, so it's pretty nice when a friend braves the rising airfare and makes the journey. 

have a great weekend!

back to business

it feels good to be back in iowa. our friends had an amazing wedding, and the reception was so lovely.  it was at a studio space which had a deck that was so close to the brooklyn bridge you felt like you could reach out and touch it.  it was not the place a homesick brooklynite should spend the evening when she has to get back on a plane the next day, midwest bound. i would have taken a picture of the skyline or something a bit more beautiful, but you'll have to settle for the classy decorations we used at the post wedding/pre-reception party.  this bar is around the corner from our old apartment, and one of the best places for a bucket of pony high lifes and a juke box filled with cher and meatloaf. all in all, it was an amazing weekend spent with much loved friends and family.

have a great week!

spring break

spring break has officially begun.  this weekend has been really relaxing and pretty lazy because i don't feel like i need to cram everything into saturday and sunday--i have a whole work-free week to do it.  the weather has been cooperating too, and we've eaten lunch out on the porch for the last couple of days.  so nice.

sewing has also been back on my radar, and i finished a new gift for a dear friend. after reading about the sister box over at scissors. paper .glue i knew i needed to start one of these, but i only have two older brothers (whom i love deeply, but they still don't count.)  so i emailed my sister-like friend out in oregon (who just bought her first sewing machine) and we agreed that we must start one.  this yoga bag will be one of the items in the first box.  it's from amy butler's free pattern, and it was pretty easy to  make.  it was my first time sewing on a circular bottom, so that was a bit

interesting--and it turned out a bit wonky, but i don't
think she'll mind too much.  i've been map questing my road trip out to ikea tomorrow, and i'm including stops to forever 21, h&m, and possibly a village discount store.  i can barely contain my excitement.

sweet, sweet consumerism

i have now begun to bring my coffee to work in this monster.  i don't even know how many cups it holds exactly because i went into caffeine shock after about 5...and it was still warm at 2:30pm.  i think i'm in love. 

i haven't been doing much around here but cleaning and working, so my productivity level has been rather low. i've done a bit of ebay shopping or rather ebay stalking, and i earned my blue star--turns out i've purchased 50 items since 2000.  in some way that makes me really sad.  if i give my average purchase a price of $15.00...have i really spent upwards of $750 on stuff?  i guess spread out over 8 years that isn't too bad, roughly $100 per year, but i keep thinking about what i could buy today with $750.  i'd probably buy more stuff...

get in shape girl

i have a feeling this is going to be a long week.

i went to the gym for the first time since i joined, which was way back in february. to motivate myself i went to target and bought some new gym clothes.  i was overly excited to see that they carry tall yoga pants...something that very well could have come out a long time ago, but i haven't been to the "active clothing" section of any store since i was using my get in shape girl ankle weights. i guess i figured if i spent $75 on anything i'd have to use it. we'll see how long i can keep it up...

i did a little sewing over the weekend, but not nearly as much as i'd like.  i did get a chance to update the vintage shop with some thrifting finds. 

maxed out.

i'm a little over saturated at the moment.  i think i need a little break from politics, from work, from winter... aren't we due for a little daylight savings soon? how nice will it be to wake up with the sunlight and drive home with the daylight still lingering? is it too early to start packing away the sweaters and long johns?

mail

every day since the deadline of the gocco swap i've been running to my mailbox when i get home from work, excited at the idea of receiving yet another beautiful print.  here are my most recent mailings--in order from left to right are...

andrea, tracy, carolyn,  samantha, and sarah.  really beautiful, aren't they? i have the day off school today, so i'm hoping i'll get some sewing done--i've managed to finish absolutely nothing all week, and i'm feeling a bit down about it all. it is amazing how important making things has become--it makes me a much happier and balanced person. 

monday, monday

i'm here...still working on wine bags.  it's parent/teacher conference time around here, so i'm a bit stressed and overwhelmed.  you wouldn't believe how many charts and graphs and paperwork go along with being a special ed teacher...

happy monday!

go, now, go

i'm looking forward to an entire weekend of doing nothing but relaxing and sewing. i am so sick of the snow. i don't think i can properly verbalize just how tired i am of the cold, the ice, the snow, the slush, and the bad drivers that only exacerbate the problem. argh! so, i'm very excited to run home and watch another episode of my so called life on abc.com and finish up my second batch of oysters.  there is nothing quite like a little sewing and a little jordan catalano to get the weekend started off right.

weekend round-up

this weekend was exhausting but really great.  we spent 4 hours on saturday canvasing the neighborhood in sunny, 45 degree weather.  we couldn't have asked for a nicer day.  i wish the weather would have held out for us today because we hit a huge snow storm that added 3 hours on to our return trip.  gotta love those iowa winters! i did manage to get to a new vintage store in kansas city called good juju.  the selection was pretty small, but what they had was great and pretty reasonably priced. i got this little suitcase for $10, and i've been looking for vintage luggage so this seemed like a good (small) piece to start out with. there were a few other things i had my eye on, but there is only so much you can fit into a yaris with three grown bodies already in it.

oh, and if you're in the market for a new light for your work space, joann's online store is having a 50% off sale of all ott-lite products.  i got myself the pink ott-lite truecolor portable lamp and i love it. i have my fingers crossed for a snow day tomorrow so i can finish my oysters...