mmmmmm... organization

Do you know what a girl likes to see when she sits down to make some cards?

Fumbling... searching...

Find the right pen! No more chore -

Rainbow of pigments.

declare your intentions

My studio is a mess.
No, i mean a MESS:


How can i possibly expect to be productive and create everyday in the midst of such insanity?

Right now i have all of my jewelry making things set up on a card table in the living room.

As festival season quickly approaches [JEWELRY SHOW FEB 2-3] and i get closer to (possibly) a full retail space of my own i need to stream-line my studio, make it more useful and clear away the clutter.
To that end, Rea and I are doing an on-line class together called the Get Organized 2013 Challenge. It is 8 weeks long and we are going to stay on top of each other to get this done.
One of the assignments for this week is to tell people about the challenge to create accountability.
 We all know where i turn for accountability - HI!
As i was watching the first webinar on Tuesday i really looked at my studio space for the first time in a long time and realized that all of the furniture is exactly where i had the movers place it in May 2006.  hmmmmmmm... All of those decisions were made before i really knew how i would use the space and a lifetime before it became my real life work.
Tonight i move around all of the storage shelves to make them more accessible and logical for how i work at the table.
Yes, i realize i can't get to the table yet, but we gotta do this one step at a time.

how i know it is time to clean my desk

That's my desk blotter at work.
Today was the first time i've been in-house for a full day since a week before the conference.

I started out with high hopes of getting a long list of things done, but quickly i realized that before any actual work got done i needed to just dig out from under the crap that had piled and piled up over the last month getting ready. The weeks leading up to the conference were a bit of a frenzy and i was jotting notes everywhere to make sure that i didn't forget anything.

I mean, how could i even concentrate on moving forward with this staring me in the face?

Honestly, any of you would probably be able to figure out what any of that stuff means as well as i could.

Seriously, people.

The only thing to be done was to strip the desk clean and then file, toss, recycle, or follow-up with things as i put them back on the desk.

Taking that hour to decipher the mess, throw away the crap and organize made it much easier to get things accomplished and i really do use my blotter to gauge when it is time to sweep things clear.

back porch chat

Hello old friend.
Pull up a chair.
I'm so glad you came to visit.
Let's relax here on the porch and catch up some.
Can i get you some sweet tea?
Would you like crushed mint or mayhaps some rum in that?

Did you hear that there is a new thrift store in Catonsville?

It's called Just In 4 U and is right behind the Papa John's on the Old Edmondson spur.

The store is pretty small, but i like that they have not only regular clothes, but petites, plus and maternity as well. The ladies that run the store seem nice (as a bonus they are from Catonsville and want to invest in the community) and one of them has a thing for shoes, so there are plenty of good shoes to be had for cheap.

But you know me; shoes are not my addiction. 

Hello lovelies  

I thrifted 2 great pins the day i visited.

The cat in the washing machine made me laugh out loud when i saw it. The pearls as bubbles are a fab touch and there is no solid backing so you'll be able to see through to whatever it is attached.

I once considered collecting pearl-heads; they are so weirdly ugly that i like them. I had a great cowboy in jeweled chaps who unfortunately lost his head when he went through the washing by mistake. sigh So i couldn't pass up this $4 ballerina.
When i went to Just In 4 U they didn't take credit (cash or checks), but it was in the business plan to add the machine as soon as they could. Stop by for some good local thrifting.

Do you realize that Dashiell turned one in March?
 Is it my imagination or is time speeding up every year? I swear that i just posted the first pictures of him and now it is already a month since the fun filled birthday party.

Of all of the pictures i took that day, this is the one that makes me smile the most because it captures all three generations of boys in one frame, plus you can see the picture that Jason's dad is taking at the same time that i am taking this one.




Have you ever been to the 8X10 in Federal Hill?
I went there for the first time
to see TM Adam
play keyboards
with the John Mancini Band.
I guess you'd call them a jam band with a jazzy flair.

Normally a quartet, for this local show John Mancini's dad joined them on stage playing the trumpet for a few numbers.

mother, sister and wife all snapping away

It was a family affair all around as not only did the entire team come out to support Adam, his family came up from Virginia. Even his elusive wife Rachel -whom none of us had met yet cause she is interning at Sinai- managed to have the night off from the hospital.

Though not particularly a fan of jam bands in general, i thoroughly enjoyed their set and highly recommend the new John Mancini Band's new CD, Sun King.



It is a well known fact that i am also not particularly fond of reggae. I mean, reggae is fine one song at a time, but after 3 songs i feel like i'm just listening to the same thing over and over again.
After Adam's band there was another band on the bill called Yellow Dubmarine.
Yes, it is a Beatle's-cover reggae band.
What?
Obviously i had to stay, just to satisfy my curiosity about what in the world this band could be about; especially after i saw the stage crew set up about a jillion mikes on that itty, bitty stage.
 There were eight band members always on stage, but that number went up to 10 or 11 during different songs as there were 2 guest vocalists and a PR/manager/friend guy who'd show up to do percussion and raise sing-a-long signs.
This is a tight, well-rehearsed band. They had some arrangements that i really enjoyed and others that made me cringe (who the heck slows down Help?), but either way they sounded great. It was certainly a different experience so i'd recommend going to see Yellow Dubmarine if they are playing a gig near you.

After the personnel shake-up at work I decided to rearrange the Happy TSP Corner. We needed to utilize the space better, I wanted a meeting/work table and frankly i couldn't stand to look at the empty desks where the rest of my team used to be so over 3 days everything got moved and cleaned. We also took out all of the cubicle walls.
At one point a desk was moved and we found this:

ummmmmmm... ew! There was detritus down there from every person that has ever had this desk, including me and i moved over to The Big Desk 10 years ago. And let's not even talk about little buggy corpses  or that snarl of cordage.

Yikes.
I highly recommend that if you haven't rearranged and cleaned your office recently you might want to get on that cause goodness only knows what might be lurking.

On my trivia team it is understood that i can not do anagrams. My brain just doesn't work like that. I'm great at puzzles and patterns, but not mixed-up words. That's why i suck at Scrabble. In an effort to exercise that part of my brain and to do something new, i decided to do the Jumbles in the newspaper (yes, i still get a newspaper; how else am i gonna have coupons?)

My Grandma Craig did the Jumble every day after finishing the crossword and i was always amazed cause it looks incomprehensible to me.

So one night after reading the funnies and working the Sudoku i tackled the Jumble. I worked that mother like a dog after a bone, determined to not give up. Even though they were short words it took me almost 30 minutes to solve all 5 of them, but by jiminy i did it
 and having finally accomplished this mind expanding exercise, proving to myself that i am capable of conquering it, i feel compelled to never, ever do it again.
It made my brain hurt.

Blech.

The team will simply have to count on Karen and Kate for those stupid anagram questions.

Speaking of Team Marge, here we are at our fourth Trivia Bowl

Cricket, Karen, Chris, Kate, Nancy, Jason and the goofball in the front

As i'm sure you can tell, the theme of this Trivia Bowl was sports. Not that the questions were all about sports (that would make me stick pins in my eyeballs), but the prizes and decorations and music was all sports themed. Jason outfitted us in jerseys, Karen gave us all hilarious hockey nicknames and we put together a lovely hockey-themed centerpiece. The Chalmers even outfitted our mascot Aloha Hello Marge.

How did we do? you ask.
Fifth place.
Again.
You might recall that there are money prizes for first through fourth places at the Trivia Bowl. You might also recall that we finished fifth last time. And the time before that. Yes, we have been out of the money by 1 to 4 points THREE TIMES IN A ROW.
Sorry to shout; it is a sore point.
There was some discussion about changing our team name to G*ddamn Fifth Place, but cooler heads prevailed. Team Marge continues on. However, they will be answering questions about vice-presidents and kicking butt without me for a little while. I am benching myself for half a season to save money and devote some time to other projects.

Which brings us to the Second Annual Catonsville Art Exhibition.
You know this is happening, right?
You know i am exhibiting again, right?
You know that i am in charge of promotions this year, right?
It's May 15th; your calendar is marked, right?

Gosh, its been nice to catch up.
I've missed you.
We should do this again.
You bring the nachos, i'll bring the watermelon sorbet.
Before you go i wanna mention that the quest to try and do new things has become a way of life. Just last night a had lobster ravioli (good, but i wouldn't order it for myself) and anchovies (dear lord was that repulsive) for the first time. Even the things i don't like are cool for being new.
Thanks for stopping by.
Be careful leaving the porch, that third step is a little wobbly.
Take care.

Confession is good for the soul (and the laundry)

Perhaps, like my darling BFF, you noticed that the Gold Stars for Grown-Ups counter was stuck on 6 stars for about 2 months. I ran out of the sheets where i kept track of stars. See how forlorn the pad looks hanging there at the bathroom door all naked and alone? I ran out of the sheets the same week my grandma died and then there was work and the play and, well, stuff. I had the new tablet, i just kept putting off setting it up. And without the system in place to reward myself, i started slacking off. When the sheet is hanging there with quiet recrimination - Have you mopped the kitchen yet? Have you? Have You? HAVE YOU? - i remember to do things, but without it, not so much. Two weeks ago, i set up the new system, tweaked things a bit, and set new goals. Then i promptly left the continent for 10 days. Way to plan, Nikster! Anyhoo, i am once again exposing my lameness to create accountability for myself. This weekend i am back on track, people! I will be uploading Hawaii photos, writing a post about the play for my cousin, cleaning my closet and doing laundry. Perhaps i will even do something about the check engine light that has been on for a month. Wish me luck (and stars).

Do i have a sign around my neck

... that says Let me help you empty your house?
I have fun posts to do about a garden, 2 museums and a piece of art i recently acquired, but alas i am slaving away in my friend Justin's apartment instead. When he left at the beginning of the summer he only took what he could fit in his car. He came back to move out of his apartment and will return to Louisville tomorrow with a car load.
We've had 3 days to get rid of basically everything he owns.
Anyone need a full-sized box slat bed?
Or a full set of the 1906 Encyclopedia Britannica?
Or 3 metric tons of Legos? Jeez, how do i get myself into these situations?
 Today's Public Service Announcement - Don't leave a Bag O' Salad in the fridge for 3 months. It turns into vile black liquid that makes Niki want to hurl.
Thank You.

denuding the van

When we got a new van for work we had to get rid of one of the old ones. The decision was made to sell it cheap, cheap, cheap and team member Amy snapped it up to haul band equipment. The only catch was that she had to get the graphics off of it so that it could no longer be identified with my program in case she cut people off in traffic or staged a vicious drive-by. I was ecstatic to rip away at the full-body plastic wrap. It wasn't that i don't like the graphics; to the contrary, i wish we had the money to wrap our new van. No, the problem is that we've kept the vans waaaaaay past the lifetime of the graphics and over time they've become shabby in places. The piece i am pulling in the above picture has been starting to peel for almost a year, frankly driving me nuts every single day. It felt oh so good to yank it off and throw it away. Amy found that using a heat gun very carefully helped expedite the process. But still it was some slow, slow going. One thing i am NOT going to miss about the van wrap is having the side windows covered with graphics. You can't check your blind spot (don't worry, we use convex mirrors for safety; we aren't a driving hazard to you) and if you are sitting in the backseat you can't see a thing except dots. Bye-bye dreaded dots!

So very clean

I've been busy. I've been sick. My studio looked like this: Yikes. Obviously I haven't really gotten anything done in there for a while; I was even LATE on several birthdays. This weekend i cleaned, purged and straightened. Now it looks like this: Wait... is that actual work space? ahhhhhhh... so much better... Look - supplies that are organized and in the correct places and a table top cutter that you can actually CUT ON! Watch out people, i'm crafting tonite!

Too much stuff

Hello all. Did you think I had disappeared forever? Did you think i was on an exciting adventure in Botswana? Well, actually i was buried under piles and piles and piles of stuff. After having to clean out my parent's house 2 years ago and having to get rid of about 40% of my belongings to move into the apartment, i was pretty much cured of my need to gather and collect stuff. If i hadn't been, the events of the last week would certainly have done the job. Many of you know that my friend Douglas' mother died at the end of March. He came up from Florida to clean out her house last week since I was on vacation and could help. The house is in Ellicott City (about 15 minutes or so from my apartment) and is huge : 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, living room, dining room, kitchen, sun room, finished basement and 2 car garage. It must have been lovely once, but was in a sad state of disrepair, decorated in styles that you know were very chic once, but now make your retinas scream yes, that is wallpaper on the ceiling and is filled with furniture that you know cost a lot of money, but makes one despair for humanity the Settee of the Damned - there was actually a pair of them, really The executor of the estate had been working on cleaning and clearing the house for 2 months. I though Douglas and I had to finish clearing the house, in four days. Thank God, we didn't. Working every single moment without eating or sleeping, we wouldn't have gotten done. I was prepared for there to be a lot of stuff but nothing prepared me for this There were boxes and bags everywhere. It was obvious that some rooms had been worked on, but in other rooms there was crap strewn everywhere. Walking through the house Wednesday morning i was completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff. Just when i thought i had a handle on what needed to be done we found an entire cache of crap in the furnace room There were piles of paintings stacked randomly in nearly every room and everything had to be opened and checked because trunks were as likely to be filled with who knows what as they were to be filled with Victorian quilts In the living room there were boxes full of wrapped china, glassware and what-nots It might not seem too intimidating from the picture, but you have to realize that these boxes were 3 and half feet tall i couldn't even reach into the bottom without crawling inside or tipping the box over. Our job was -in four days- to pack Douglas' room and go through as much stuff as possible to pick out what he wanted to keep, what should be given to charity and what we were going to try to sell. Progress looked like stacked boxes for charity and consignment items piled on the dining room table I was unwrapping things in newspapers from the 70s [i did find useful information, like according to the April 18, 1975 Catholic Review, a prominent girl's summer camp in the Poconos would be opening registration for their 58th season]. There were whole sets of china that hadn't been looked at, much less used in 30 years. Why? Why could anyone possibly need this much stuff? I threw away antique lace and vintage linens that were destroyed by time. In the bottom of one box i found a mouse corpse - half fur, half skeleton; he had literally been crushed under all of the crap. We managed to get a lot done, including making 4 trips to the dump. And some good will come out of this since so much will go to charity. But it really made me want to go through my own stuff and see if there is anything else i can get rid off!

Color Palette

I was having a lunch on Monday and Douglas was arriving to stay for a few days on Tuesday, so over the weekend i did a lot of cleaning in the Nikiverse. I think i did about 5 loads of laundry. I sorted all of my clothes, rearranged the closet and took a lot of stuff to charity.
After i looked at the stuff i was giving away
and the stuff i was keeping
i came to the conclusion that i own a lot of pink and purple and blue.
I know that everyone has a color palette that they tend to favor, but i didn't realize that mine was so obvious.
 Wow.