AND THEN I WAS GONE FOR AGES. Working on crafts.

My friends my friends my friends,

It’s not that I haven’t been thinking of you.

It’s just: I’ve been prepping for the beautiful Christmas season and something had to get neglected and, I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry, it looks like the blog wasn’t favored as much as presents-for-my-friends.

Also, as a side-note, it snowed like mad all weekend. And then I was too scared to go running because I didn’t know where the ice was and where the ice wasn’t. And so I found an internet workout that is all “SIX PACK IN SIX WEEKS!!11!”

And I was like, “You know, I don’t have a six-pack.”

So, I did these exercises.

Miss Clavel, something is not right.

My tush and my legs are BEYOND sore. I can barely walk. Let alone put on tights. And sit.

But my abs feel nothing.

This leads me to believe that I have executed every move incorrectly.

Bad news: the abs aren’t being worked.

Good news (glass! half! full!): I guess my legs are getting their fair share of workout love.

That being said: WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

Thursday was a party. I’ll post pics tomorrow. Past that:

On Saturday there was a snowstorm. Fluffy, blow-y snowflakes everywhere.

And my mother decided that we needed cabbage. And the only place to get it was a snowy drive into Eastern Market. Miles away.

Since my car handles snow well, I accompanied.

And we bought the cabbage.

Hopefully it lives up to all of the expectations of the biggest and best leaves because Christmas is coming and gołąbki is no walk in the pretty pastel park. We need the good stuff for the sweet bambino Gesu.

Oh, and the most hipster craft show ever. Ever. Ever.

I wanted to snap pics of them all, but figured that might be weird.

There were the we-make-our-own-bikes people and the people who make honey from bee hives in the city.

There were the artists and the knitters and the cross-stitches-of-naughty-sayings (really).

My favorite were the ladies who took old stamp-cards from library books and stamped them with flirty library-appropriate sayings like, “I’m checking you out.”

I thought about buying one. But, the only librarian I know is a pretty good friend of mine. And I think she would just be like, “What is this all about?”

And I’d be like, “I don’t really know. And I just spent $5.”

ALSO THERE WAS THIS GIANT PIG HEAD.

Do you eat these?

I don’t understand.

I mean, I know about the apple-in-the-pig’s-mouth trick, but I thought that was more when you had the entire pig and then that was a decoration.

I know so little of the world’s fun.

And then Christine and mom and I colored some Christmas cards for senior citizens and drove deeper into the city, saw THE MOST BEAUTIFUL pottery and came home.

This year I decided that, really, my family doesn’t need a whole lot. We’re adults. If someone needs something: they buy it. Because of that, presents are kind of challenging.

This year I decided to invest myself in craft projects. I’m trying (aiming so hard!!) for one handmade thing for everyone on my list.

Maybe it won’t happen.

But! It definitely won’t happen if I don’t try.

There’s a lesson in that, kids. As my mom would always say to me, “You know who gets the part? The person who tries out.”

Words. of. wisdom.

But, you know me. You know me. I’m super duper awesome at having ideas upon ideas and then more ideas and better ideas until the primary ideas are neglected.

And so, there is a bag of PROJECTS in my room because I’m like, “Yes, yes, yes!! My craffffts!” and when I hit a roadblock I don’t get discouraged…I just start a new project. And so, current count of unfinished Christmas projects: five.

La la la.

I don’t deny that I have flaws, friends.

Also, I did get a little sidetracked tonight when I went to a gas station with Christine and the gas station attendant had cut his leg on a broken coffee pot and it was bleeding so I had to find the First Aid kit so Christine could offer medical/ moral support for a half-hour until someone else got there.

What I’m saying is: sometimes things are out of your hands. So, fly with that.

(Oh, and now I’m DYING because one of my presents MAY be “Midsummer’s Night’s Dream” themed and now I’m like playsplaysplaysplays on the brain. Please. Someone. Play theater with me. Or, at least some improv so I get my fix. Thank you.)

(One time I was talking to my brother and he was like, “Sometimes I read your blog and sometimes I don’t because it’s so much you I get overwhelmed.” I strongly feel that this is one of the latter-posts. David, if you made it this far, just stop. I’m going to keep going. The last photo is pretty slick, though, if you just want to scroll down.)

Oh, and my family is also preparing.

Take Christine and Paul, for instance. On Friday they made a Christmas puzzle with their friend, Roxy.

On Saturday I was sewing at the table and Christine was making chocolates and telling Paul to help her.

It was a good time.

Conversations of note:

Me: “Guys I can’t find my camera. I seriously can’t. I have no idea where it is (I didn’t. That’s why there are no pictures of chocolate-making). Do you know where my camera is?”
Paul: “I THREW IT AWAY.”
Christine (at the same time as Paul: “IT’S IN THE GARBAGE BECAUSE I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR PHOTOS.”

(It wasn’t. It was under some material).

Later
Christine: “PAUL! Get over here. You need to help me make these chocolates.”
Paul: “Gooosh! I’m getting tired of this child labor.”

So, yes, that and all that and there was even more (SUNDAY’S READINGS, GUYS. SO GOOD).

Oh, and also: I SAW A DINOSAUR AT THE ZOO.

Just kidding. It was just a large reptile.

MMmmmkay. Enough of this nonsense.

I missed you. I love you.

I’ll be back later, alligator.

Fill me in if anything intense happened in the blosphere while I was gone, Mmmkay?

XOXOX,
Nell