The One Where My Arms Fell Off.

So for about two and a half weeks, I have been doing fitness bootcamp twice a week. This paid for torture takes place at 8:30 in the morning (on my day off nonetheless) in a park.  When I started this it was a way to hurl me into getting back into shape. And it has been really good. I feel better, I am sleeping better and I really enjoy it....as I am driving away.

The Masterminds behind boot camp definitely perfected the art of trick exercises. Trick exercises don't look that hard when the instructor is demonstrating them, but after the 515th repetition you regret all the times you sat on your couch and laughed at the people on The Biggest Loser.

This week the thing that has made boot camp difficult, actually has very little to do with boot camp itself. This difficulty is brought to you by the lovely people at Food Network Magazine and arrived in my mailbox yesterday.

The Chocolate issue?!?! Seriously? Right now? When I am in the middle of 6 weeks of torture during which my trainer yells things like "DON'T SABOTAGE ALL YOUR HARD WORK BY EATING BADLY!"

The second thing that made boot camp difficult today was the weather. So far I have had it pretty easy with the mild winter we have been having. Even though my boot camp meets pretty early it hasn't been that cold. Recently I have been able to peel off most of my layers before the end. But this morning was different. 

This is what I saw when I got in my car this morning (after I cracked the frost off the door):

And the good news was that by the time I got to the park, the temperature gauge looked like this:

And this is how I felt about the whole experience:

Oh boot camp! One day I will love you. 

Older Than William Junior

My Family has had a complicated and somewhat tortured history with Christmas Cacti.

For years the Clarke's had a Christmas Cactus that had been passed down for years, we called it the "Legacy cactus". It was huge. It was beautiful. It was "older that William Junior" (My Grandfather).

See My family is different than other families. We do not take pride in purchasing a new Christmas cactus every year, watching it bloom and them moving on to other seasonal plants. Oh No! the Clarkes take pride in nurturing a plant until it is literally overflowing its pot. We offer pieces of it to our neighbors. We marvel over its beauty at family functions. We consistently remark that it is "older than William Junior".

Unfortunately, my grandmother somehow managed to kill the Legacy cactus. We are not really sure how she did this as cactus are pretty low maintenance. My mother thinks she must have left it outside during the frost. All in all the family was outraged. How could this have happened. But years have past (I'm not sure how many but it has been 17 years since my grandmother, herself passed, so it has been a while).

This year at Thanksgiving we were admiring my aunt's Christmas cacti as they overflowed their pots in the hallway. My mom asked if any of them came from a piece of "the Legacy cactus". "No."my aunt remarked, obviously disgruntled. "I still haven't forgiven her for killing that cactus. It was older than William Junior you know!"


So last year when I rescued this scrawny Christmas cactus from the grocery store I work at, something innate in me woke up. Maybe I had dreams of one day being able to say "That Cactus is older than Jody's oldest boy Clyde and he will be 63 this March!". But for a while it appeared that my Christmas cactus dreams would never be reached. Buds did not appear between Thanksgiving at Christmas. A customer who came through my line at the grocery store told me that you have to keep them outside for a few months during the summer for it to bloom (how in the world does it know that it is outside?!).  But as the New Year dawned my cactus has sprouted and blossomed. SO while it has been a late bloomer it has been worth the wait.

The other day my sister and I were skypeing with my other sister, our parents and her little boys. I proudly held my Christmas Cactus in front of the camera so they could see it's vibrant flowers! They praised me and my cactus and I felt tied to the generations of my family who had loved and nurtured cacti of years past.

 I like that I could be starting new family traditions. I like that I could have a legacy to pass on. I like that even though my grandmother successfully killed one of the harder plants to kill the frost could not kill this quirky aspect of my family that makes us unique. And  I like that while there is no longer a cactus that is "Older this William Junior" this story is and that makes me smile.

Sweetening The Pot

Okay Friends I am willing to make a deal for those of y'all who have waited this long to get Christmas presents ( and believe me I am by no means finished with my Christmas shopping either). If you buy something from Sew Sew Lovely before December 17th and use the coupon code FREESHIPPING, you will get exactly that- free shipping! (And you will receive your item before Christmas)

So why not wrap up one of these beauties for someone you love? You can check them out here.

If bags aren't what you are looking for I have other options for you.  My sister also has an etsy shop and is running a procrastinators sale. Enter the coupon code SantaBaby and receive 25% off of anything in the store. Here is a peak at some of the items she has right now.

You can visit her shop by clicking here.

Just looking out for you this Christmas friends. Just looking out for you.

The Vicious Library Cycle

The Library and I are stuck in a problematic cycle of sorts.

I LOVE going to the library. I fill my arms with tons and tons of books and I am always in awe that I just get to take them home with me. They don't need money in exchange for those literary gems, they don't need blood, or any other sort of collateral I could think of. All they have to do is swipe my card and I get to walk through those doors with all the books I can carry.


SO what is the problem? Oh I will tell you my friend!  Every few weeks I go to the library, check out way more books than I can read during the two or three weeks I am allowed to have them and I spend those weeks immersed in literary bliss. Eventually the inevitable happens. I misplace something I have checked out from the library. It doesn't make sense that this would happen, I live in a two bedroom apartment, but it does. Now the library seems docile and giving when you are checking out books but Oh how it rears its ugly head when you fail to return something!

On more than one occasion the library has threatened to refer me to a collections agency if I did not return or pay for a book or other material I had taken out. The thing about it is that while a book may cost $25 in the real world, in library land they can somehow stretch it to make it cost $50. And HEAVEN FORBID you lose a CD or DVD.  Once I lost one CD of an audio book. I took in the other 8 CDs I still had though and thankfully they only charged me for the one I lost. Otherwise I would have owed that seemingly sweet librarian behind the counter $90!!! (I am not in anyway criticizing the library system. I understand that you are borrowing the books and should be held responsible. I understand there are other costs they have to account for.).

After I finally find the lost book, or succumb to the fines or replacement costs, I become a little weary of the library. I mean if I go back will it be the same? I see the scenario in my head. I get up to the counter cheerful, with my arms filled with books. The sweet lady behind the counter smiles at me as she takes my card.  As she scans my card her expression  changes.  My account has been flagged, I am a book-loser! I cannot be trusted! Her upper lip curls back and I see a pair of buffy-the vampire-slayerish fangs shimmering at me as I back away, dropping my books and run for the door.

Obviously this never happens. At the library all sins are forgiven after you pay the fines or return the book. It astounds me every time and I fall even more into a book-induced stupor.  And yes I am trying desperately to not lose books. Hopefully, this month I will break the cycle and the library and I can once and for all end this love/hate relationship . I think we could have a great future in front of us, filled with suspenseful chapters, riveting story lines, and happy endings.

Saying Goodbye to an old Friend

Today my family has experienced the loss of our little dog Dezdamona ( affectionately know as Dez or Dezzie). Dez had lived a long life and I want to tell you a little about it. Maybe because I think it she was a special dog, and maybe because I have some great stories about her but mostly because I hope it  will help my heart heal a little.

My sister Anna found Dez at an animal shelter almost thirteen years ago. I remember her driving up in the drive way and honking her horn numerous times. My sister Emily and I ran out to see what all the commotion was about. When we opened Anna's car door we found a scared, skinny little brown dog huddled in the front floorboard. My mom liked to say that Dez was a beagle who ran in to a dachshund somewhere along the line. All I know is for me and Dez it was love at first sight, from that day on we were best friends. I taught her to crawl up in our laps if we were sitting in the floor,a trick she loved to try when you were opening presents, hold/playing with babies or even just tying your shoes. My Dezzie was the sweetest dog. She never bit or snapped at anyone and Oh what a personality she had! I could tell you stories and stories about the times she made us laugh or the funny things she did but I know that some of those memories are just for me, for me to cherish in my heart. The few I will share I think show what a loyal dog she was. I think that's the best thing about dogs, they love you fiercely and for all of their days.

Dez was not always an adventurous dog. She was very skittish when we first got her and seemed to be scared of everything. After a while she to grew out of most of those fears, some of which included the garage door and men wearing hats. But others she always seemed pretty skeptical about, like the stairs. Dez really stayed away from the stairs unless she desperately needed something (to go outside or to eat) or she was so angry and needed to somehow express this emotion. That last statement may not make any sense to you so let me explain. When I first left for college Dez was a very sad and upset little dog. She looked for me everywhere but to no avail. Overcome with anger Dez heaved her then slightly chubby little frame up the steps and walked into my room where she then proceeded to pee in the middle of my carpet. (Just so you know this is not a dog who frequently went to the bathroom in the house, this was an no accident). It was as if she was saying "HA! I'll show her! How could she leave me?!?" Every time I would come home for a visit my mom would have to close my bedroom door after I left or this ritual would be repeated without fail.

Then I got sick and had to have brain surgery (It will be 8 years since my surgery on October 23rd!). After I got to come home from the hospital Dez knew I was in the house but she couldn't seem to find me. My sisters taught her how to put her paws up on the side of my bed and I would reach over and pet her head. After she figured out where I was she came to see me at least once a day. Sometimes I would find her sleeping on the floor beside my bed. The funny thing about this was that Dez never slept anywhere but on her own cushion or in her dog crate. When I was strong enough to walk to our family room and lay down on the couch Dez would sleep next to me all day, very unusual behavior for this little dog. It was if she knew I needed comfort and a friend. It was if she knew I needed her.


But years and years have passed. Dez would have been fifteen years old in December which is 105 in dog years. And all of a sudden things just seemed to be a little too much for our little friend. And today she left this world for another. Oh how I miss her! It feels like a member of my family is missing. I know now what it must have felt like when she searched that big house of ours looking for me when I went to college.

People can argue and say that dogs don't have souls and thus cannot go to heaven. These people have never loved a dog like I have. They can't or else they wouldn't believe that there are no dogs in heaven. My puppy was a friend, a comfort, and someone who loved me even at my worst, my ugliest, my lowest. I think this is a reflection of God and how we should strive to love others. And why would God not want all that exuberance, goodness and love in heaven. I know heaven is a better place today because it has one new member : a little brown baby puppy named Dez.

Stuffed

 Hey did you know September is over? I really don't know where that month got to but I can't seem to find it anywhere. Since I last posted I have been sewing my fingers off trying to get ready for this and this. And somewhere in there I fit in time to have a birthday. And I really feel like I woke up and all of sudden it was October.....and sort of cold....


In other news, my sister and I have been eating a lot of "stuffed things" for dinner recently, with a lot of success so it is about time to share a few of our experiences. First : Goat cheese stuffed baked apples= Amazing. We have actually made these a few times recently. We don't like to have things on the menu two consecutive weeks but as long a there is a week in between its a go (if our Mom is coming to visit, the need to impress her with our really good recipes trumps the nonconsecutive week rule).

We have perfected this recipe since I took the pictures but you get the idea. Basically we stuffed apples with goat cheese and honey and baked them until they were vesicles of perfection ( about 30 minutes at
425 degrees).

Next we tried stuffed bell peppers which was another successful endeavor. I just feel healthy eating an entire pepper (even if it is stuffed with meat and cheese).

Our latest stuffed dinner came after an uncharacteristically helpful moment from my sister Emily. Emily is the greatest but one thing she is not great at is coming up with ideas for dinner. Emily loves food and recently is up for trying new things but ask her to come up with what she wants to have and you will more than likely get a blank stare. Sometimes she will look at you, refer to herself in 1st person and say "Emily is not helpful." and walk away. So a few weeks ago when she suggested we have "sweet potatoes stuffed with stuff", I did all I could to make that happen. And so we had "Dairy Free Twice Baked Sweet potatoes" (we try to stay away from dairy but this recipe could be easily made with dairy products). You can find this recipe here. The only thing we did different is we used dairy free cream cheese instead of soy yogurt.  And these sweet potatoes will probably be making an experience at all the Clarke get-togethers from now on.

So even though September managed to slip by me and I feel like I have stumbled into October  slightly shocked and somehow a year older, I did emerge with something valuable- 3 news ways to stuff foods into other foods and have it turn out amazing!

Isn't She Lovely?

Okay so for a few months now I have been making clutch purses (I call them "Fancy Flounces" after my bigger Flouncy Bag). Some of you may have seen them as one of my friends, Melissa, gave one away on her blog last month and I had a few at my grand opening. I still only have a few because, while I have made a bunch in the month of July, I sold them all to Lilly at Petal Boutique. This is a great new Boutique in Greenville that you really need to check out.

SO I just finished this Fancy Flounce and I LOVE IT! It is a little bit autumn meets "A Midsummer Night's Dream".  It (and hopefully a few others, if I can get them sewn) will be at my studio this Friday August 5th from 6-9. If you live out of town and are interested in one of my clutch purses just send me a message or comment on this post. I think they would make great bridesmaid's gifts or would be a one of a kind accessory to add to any outfit!

And remember,  my studio which is off of Pendleton street right under the Pendleton Art District Sign will be open this Friday from 6-9pm. The address is 1279 Pendleton Street. Hope to see you there!