Hi all:

Not sure why it has been almost 2 weeks since I last wrote. I’m here and alive! I just heard about this lady, Lisa. She has AML, the acute form of the kind of leukemia Eric has. If left untreated, his can morph into AML–please correct me if I’m totally off Eric! She needs a bone marrow donor desperately. Here’s her site and story.

In other news, I will do something crafty this week into the weekend and will blog about it by Sunday evening. Promise!

Also, I need to warn y’all there could be some very disturbing cat photos coming up as well. Our big maine coon, Scotch, is a major diva. Eric has set up a little light box and everytime Eric gets out his camera Scotch is in it posing. He also loves getting his hair blown with the hair dryer and will sit still so you can “put make-up” on him. He is re-donk.

Much love and sorry for the lack of substance in posting.

Peace,
^-^

Tri training is going well. I was half-way to spin Monday night when I was called and told it was cancelled. Seems like a bit of wintery mix shuts down just about everything in St. Louis. It was nice to go home and sit on the couch with Eric. We’ve both been super-busy lately. He’s finishing his quarter this week and I am “tri-ing” to get in shape! So we enjoyed some wine and we chatted and read side-by-side. Shouldn’t every evening be like that?

Yesterday morning, I put on my swimsuit and bundled up. I scraped a bit of ice off my windshield and was feeling very proud of myself for actually going to the Y. As I pulled out of our complex a guy was running down the street–in 24 degree weather! I was thinking since I HATE treadmills and a run is on the docket for Wednesday, I guess that’ll be me too.

So I got to the Y and managed to convince myself that I’d left my cap and goggles at home. Then, I found them in an obscure pocket in my gym bag. Why do things have so many pockets? It is rough at 6 in the morning. I swam for about 30 minutes. I am not a natural swimmer. In fact, we haven’t gotten to the part about how to breathe or use our arms yet, so I improvised a bit. I mostly worked on several technique drills–keeping myself horizontal on the water and steam-lined. I only swallowed water a few times–so I must be improving! As I was swimming, I realized the race was in a lake. I wish the race was in a pool with plenty of room between swimmers and a clearly marked line down the center of the bottom. It’d sure make things easier. I am interested to see what it is like to swim in a lake. I’ve never done much more than splash around in a lake, so it’ll be a very new experience.

Tuesday night I breifly considered doing some biking, but quickly decided nope. I did set out all of my running gear.

This morning I set my alarm for 5am. It went off and I snoozed, then re-set it for 6am. I got up put on my gear and went out the door. My shoe snow chain thingies are awesome! I didn’t slip once. Fifty minutes later I was back home and the warm air in our apartment was burning my lungs. Eric took these photos.

I wear the bib so cars see me. It has lots of reflective tape on it–sexy, no?

I asked him what the temperature was. It was the coldest I’d ever run in. Watching the sky light up as the sun rose was beautiful though.

He said it was 11 with a windchill of 0. I’m officially crazy. The funny thing is, if I had to choose between a treadmill and cold weather, I’d choose the cold weather. I think I like running outside because there is a change of scenery. Also, I do better at judging my progress by eye-balling trees and promising myself I’ll take a breather when I get there–I usually don’t but knowing I can makes me feel better!

My donations are coming in steadily, but I’ll need more to meet my goal!

Peace,
^-^

I blogged about the Slow Life last week. Turns out I wasn’t just interested in the slow life, I am looking for ways to implement it my own life as well.

Alabama Chanin is offering 4 weekend workshops a year. I applied to be considered for a scholarship for the one in March. Yesterday, they announced I was one of the winners.

I am super-excited. I keep re-reading the e-mail just to make sure I didn’t mis-interpret what they were saying. They chose me along with 5 other very talented and inspiring people to participate. There are the briefest bios on the Alabama Chanin blog. Originally, they were only going to offer two scholarship positions. They said they received many outstanding applications so they decided to offer six instead. I feel really honored and look forward to the experience and community.

Peace,
Katy Renee
^-^

I finished the bag. I checked with Jillian and she says I can post photos. I plan on getting it in the mail tomorrow.
Here’s Maud styling

Here’s the inside. It is a muted leopard print. Goes great with Jillian’s kitties and new puppy!

I added a bit of elastic to the sides. Since it a large bag, this’ll allow it to expand when more items are added and be a more manageable while it is less full.

Since Jillian is a student, here’s the bag with a patternmaking book on the inside. Plenty of room for rulers, scissors, fabric and anything else she might need.

Finally, here’s the side-view. Hope you enjoy it Jillian!

First, let me explain her name. When I interned in Paris, a new intern was promised towards the beginning of July. They kept telling me her name was “Maud,” since English is my first language, I took that to be “Mod.” So the name Maud reminds me of fun memories in Paris and my quirky imperfections.

The friend I recently purchased was from the store Mood. If you watch Project Runway you are familiar with Mood. So Maud seemed like the perfect name.

Here she is!

She’s a dressform! I love, love, love her. She’s been helpful in making my friend’s skirt. Sorry, no photos of that.

Also, she has collapsible shoulders. This acts as if she is raising her arms above her head and allows clothes to more easily be put on her.

Welcome Maud. I’m sure she’ll be a regular around here!

I’ve been tagged by my friend Laura aka Valley Housewife.

So I have been tagged for the following survey.

A.The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

What I was doing 10 Years Ago:
I was in high school, causing all sorts of trouble. Not really

5 Things on my to-do list today: (Although the amount that actually gets done may vary, here is my list)
1. Lots of blogging–hehehehe
2. Try to finish the Project Blogway Bag
3. Swim tonight
4. Addressing fundraising letters
5. Enjoying the Sunday night lazies with Eric.–This involves America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Snacks I enjoy:
popcorn!!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Universal aid for AIDS, education, healthcare, etc. And look for matching funds!

3 of my bad habits:
1. Taking on too many projects.
2. Stressing out (see 1 above)
3. Procrastinating (see 1 and 2 above)

5 places I have lived:
1. Anchorage, AK
2. Paris, France (two summers)
3. St. Louis
4. Katy, TX (named after me)
5. Tulsa, OK

5 jobs I have had: (here are a few)
1. Photo Tech at Eckerds–now CVS
2. Alterations Assistant at David’s Bridal
3. CAD Textile Designer–graphic artist for fabric prints
4. Veterinary Assistant
5. lots of baby-sitting

5 things people don’t know about me:
1. I love singing.
2. My name, Katy, comes from a combination of two of my parents friends: Kay and Tillie.
3. My commute is only 3 miles and I intend to try riding when it gets warmer.
4. I’ve never seen the movie Titanic.
5. I like to play Puzzle Pirates.

I would like to tag:
anyone who wants to play..

Why do people buy stuff? Lately Oprah has been helping people reclaim their homes from clutter. (I’m looking at Oprah.com because her demographics are similar to the demographics of the customer my company attracts.) One family had 75 tons of clutter in their home! 75 freaking tons!!

I grew up with a local charity calling weekly for a pick-up and generally we had a garbage bag or two of donations for them to pick up. It seemed the norm to me. Something in. Something out. I used to be disappointed in this because I don’t have any of those cool bell bottom pants or go-go boots from the 70s that my mom stowed away. But I didn’t really give it another thought.

Then, google reader popped up this blog for a family that is not buying anything for a year. I realize this idea isn’t new. What did catch me off guard was the matriarch’s comment:

“I often feel, (felt?) that most of the things that I bring into my house are only being rented not bought. I buy stuff. Bring it home. And then a year later, sometimes sooner, I put it back into bags and bring it to Goodwill. What a waste. Not only of money, but my time and energy. ”

How true is this? I can name a few items I’ve “rented” in the past year. I can also name a several items I’ve had for ages and love. I find it interesting that the items I’ve “rented” are usually cheap or on-sale. The items I keep are items that are higher quality. Yet, in spite of knowing this, I tend to gravitate to the cheaper items in the stores because it seems better for the family budget. Thankfully, Eric refused to let me shop at a less-expensive grocery store because he saw their pre-processed food as toxic. We may spend a bit more on groceries now, but want to eat out less, which saves money, because we are actually enjoying what we are eatting from the grocery store.

Maybe I’m interested in this subject because I’m in week 6 of the Artist Way and the topic is money–and treating your “inner-artist”. Speaking of which, I bought a friend in NYC. Her name is Maud (pronouced “Mod”). I’ll show you photos soon.

Hrm, hrm, hrm indeed.

Any thoughts?

^-^Katy

Howdy.

I finished the purple skirt for my friend. She promises pictures of her wearing it will come–but it could be a few weeks. I have a bit more to do on the Project Blogway Bag with Jillian. We pushed it back a bit due to some unexpected circumstances. My goal is to finish this weekend. I have several more items coming up and I plan to add a few more images soon.

Triathlon training is kicking my butt–which makes me even more determined. We visited our local YMCA last night to see about joining. I think it’ll be a great thing for us to do. I ran for 40 minutes last night and did about 15 minutes of lower body weights. This morning I got up and did spinning at the Y for 40 minutes then we did 20 minutes of upper body weights. I like working out with a group or in a class–a lot. I find I push myself harder.

Tonight is my second to last stint at the homeless shelter. I’m not sure just what to say about my experiences but I will be certain to share when I get my thoughts collected. All in all, it has been a very positive experience, though.

Peace and the weekend will be here soon!!
^-^ Katy

I really reasonate with this article in the NYTimes.

My college roommate loved Project Alabama. The founder Natalie Chanin, went back to her roots in Alabama and developed an incredibly successful business. They utilized local women to stitch their one-of-a-kind garments. Natalie disagreed when they sent their manufacturing to India and instead focused her attention on a new company.

Today Alabama Chanin, Natalie Chanin’s newish endeavor makes me swoon. I think my roommate understood the benefit of enjoying where you are at. She loved her family’s ranch more than anything. At the time I, however, wanted out, out, out of Texas–could that have been because I was forbidden by a particular parental unit from leaving? I dreamt of the fast-fashionable life in Paris or NYC. Also, I dreamt of becoming the next Ralph Lauren. Did you realize we share a birthday, Oct. 14? But now that I have a bit of life under my belt I’m drawn to the slow movement–I wonder where it’ll lead me next.