Is Anyone Really Surprised?

Is anyone really surprised that it took me so many months to write another blog entry?  I know I'm not.  I do have some exciting updates, though. 

I go to a Methodist Church, and even though I'm not Christian, I love it!  The people there are great, and I've been an active member of this church for the past 13 years.  I have been over the years a member of handbells (currently am, again), the choir, the youth group, and other various groups.  I go to Wednesday supper every week, and even (gasp!) go to service on Sunday rarely.  Currently, I joined a needlepoint group.  We meet on the third Monday of every month to practice our stitches because a lot of us, myself included, are beginners. 

I accidentally skipped our August meeting, which apparently was more practice stitches with no real pattern or purpose.  In our September meeting, we got a pattern to work on!  I'm currently working on filling in the background.

Now, the really exciting part is WHY we are doing all of this practice.  We are each going to get to needlepoint a kneeler cover.  Said kneeler covers are then going to be put in the new sanctuary that the church just constructed.  I am going to create something that will be in the church, in front of the altar, for years to come.  How cool is that? 

So now my hobby du jour is needlepointing.  It's interesting, because I've also been reading pages upon pages from a site www.regretsy.com and one of the posts mentioned a website www.myphotostitch.com.  My Photo Stitch is a site where you can upload a photo and then it will be converted into a custom cross stitch pattern.  Hopefully a cross stitch pattern will translate just as well using needlepoint stitches.  We shall see, because I've made a pattern of Talia's face. 

There are a lot of other exciting updates, but perhaps if I keep some of them to myself for now, it will motivate me to blog more often. 

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained...

...something ventured, still nothing gained.  I recently participated in a local craft fair, which is why (among many other reasons) I haven't posted a new entry in so long.  I was very excited to find out about this craft fair, and was even more excited when I got accepted as a vendor!  I only had to pay $60 to enter, which seemed like a great deal.  I spent almost every waking moment in the weeks before the fair crafting, crafting, crafting, and even stayed up all night on the eve of the event.  I spent hundreds of dollars on supplies, and I was nervous I hadn't finished enough items to keep me going the whole day. 

I let my garden die (to be fair, this probably would have happened regardless), I let my housework get behind (which I had been determined to prevent), and I became a social hermit all so I could achieve greatness!  I set up my little table with all of my wares, and sat there with barely contained anticipation waiting for my first sale of the day.  It didn't take long, within a half hour of opening, two women came by and purchased two headbands for their nieces.  Success!  With my hard-earned $8, my sister and I got some pretzels for breakfast from the concession stand and waited for the next sale.  And we waited.  Then, we waited some more. 

I was able to sell another headband, some ponytail holders, and a sundress, all to my friends who had stopped by to support me.  Not a single.  Other.  Sale.  It was one of the most disappointing days of my life.  On the bright side, now I have a lot of things to list on my Etsy shop, which had been gathering dust much longer than this blog has been.  On the not so bright side, no one has purchased anything from my Etsy shop yet. 

I am now left with several unfinished sewing/craft projects, several finished projects, a dead garden, and a house in desperate need of cleaning.  I've picked up some new sewing projects along the way, so I'm sure those will provide a fun distraction from all the chores. 

So check out my Etsy shop, and my Facebook fan page!  Bring me that business!!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crafts-By-Alison/401264523247344

http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftsbyalison

Months later...

So again, life was distracting me.  I have been very busy these past few months.  I've done most of my spring cleaning, so that's good.  Yay, me!  I have started writing a story - the idea has been growing in my mind for a couple of months now and it's very exciting.  Part of the reason I hadn't been writing my novel is that I had no ideas for a novel.  Now that I've got an idea, I can write, write, write.  Unfortunately spring cleaning, normal housework, raising a baby, and gardening have been getting in the way of my writing. 

I have decided to grow a garden this year.  Now that Talia is over a year old and a bit more independent, I can take time to go out in the yard.  I am really excited about growing my own herbs and vegetables.  I stumbled upon a really neat gardening site - http://www.squarefootgardening.org/ - and I am going to try out their method.  It looks like it should be simple and effective!  Plus, I'll be able to grow a lot more plants in a much smaller space.  The only downside is that since it's a raised bed garden, I have to purchase a huge amount of dirt. 

I don't delude myself by thinking that anyone actually reads this blog.  If anyone does, I am sorry that I never write new entries.  I mainly write this blog to keep my creative juices flowing, and my fingers nimble on the keyboard.  My goal is going to be to update this blog at least once a week.  (Now to see if I can actually keep that goal!)

I'm off to research http://www.lowes.com/ to see if I can gather up an estimate for my gardening supplies.  Wish me luck!

The Beginning

And so it begins.  I've titled this blog Infinite Distractions appropriately, seeing as I decided upon the name two months ago and have just now sat down to set it up.  I've been given the gift of time for a moment since my daughter is napping.  I love being a mother more than I have loved doing anything else, but I do miss having my free time.  Now during naps I have to prioritze what needs to be done vs. what I would like to do. 

I decided to write this blog in hopes that it would help me stay motivated and on track with my novel.  What novel, you ask?  The one I am going to write so that I can support my family and realize my dream of being a published author.  Unfortunately, I have so many ideas about what I should write about that I haven't even started writing.  Well, that's a lie.  I wrote about half a page for two different novels.  My problem is the follow-through.  I keep telling myself I'm foolish for thinking I can actually write a novel.  Not because I don't have the literary skills or the creativity to do so, but because I lack the commitment to finish writing. 

It seems that as soon as I start on one project, my mind starts whirling with thoughts of a different project that seems like it would be more interesting.  So of course I abandon the first idea for the second, then for the third, and so on and so forth.  I am taking a stand against myself.  I am going to commit to writing this blog.  I am starting off slowly, so that I won't set myself up for failure.  Writing on this blog will keep my fingers fast on the keyboard, keep my mind clear, my thoughts flowing, and give me confidence in myself.  Because, hey, if I can write a blog, why the hell can't I write a novel?