Ten on Tuesday

10 Things You Want for Christmas

I figured it's a little late for a wish list for someone to go rush out and purchase something for me, and it's more fun to dream big, and creatively, so here's what I want for Christmas if money and some degree of magic were no object.

The power to magically know how to knit. And do it well.

And crochet.

And understand that knitting/crocheting language that alludes me, but I love listening to. Color-way, tracking (Trekking?), roving, koligu (?), fingerings (or is it fingerLings?), kashmina, stuff like that. It's all Klingon to me.

A studio!

A Czech bead vacation. I remember seeing an ad several years ago in the back of a beading magazine for a special vacation to the Czech Republic where you got to tour some of the bead factories. I don't know if there is still such a thing, I searched and came up empty. If they don't still offer this vacation, I would substitute a Crafty Chica Cruise.

A maid to keep my house picked up, so I would not have to do chores before I create.

A kiln.

A serger.

To never run out of creative podcasts to listen to!

For all my artsy/craftsy supplies to already be organized.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Best Games (video games, board games,
card games, etc)

(If I haven't mentioned it before, I am a gamer! So today's topic is perfect for me, and might even give you a gift idea.)

Carcassonne

Zombies!!!

Roller Coaster Tycoon

Scattergories

Last Night On Earth

Betrayal on the Houst on the Hill

Cranium

Meepet Juice Break

True Colors

Vikings

Ten On Tuesday

10 Things You're Thankful For

My wonderful sons, who still love me sometimes, even though they are teenagers.

My Guy. 'Nuff said.

A roof over our heads, a bed to sleep on, a car to drive, food to eat, all those essential things that we often take for granted.

That our friend Mo is doing better every day.

That I am blessed with creativity.

That we keep learning and growing throughout our lives.

The connection we all get from the internet.

Digital cameras. I've always loved photography, and digital cameras have enhanced the world of photography tenfold.

Well, this wouldn't be my list and wouldn't be my crafty blog if I didn't admit that right now, I'm also thankful for FELT!

Ten on Tuesday

10 Things You Do When You Have Nothing Else to

Bead a little. I keep a beading project next to the computer for when I'm waiting for things to load.

Blog Surf. Always looking for cool things.

Paint coins. An on-going art project.

Look through idea book. I have a little notebook full of ideas, sometimes I just look through the ideas I've already written, to inspire more ideas to write.

Sort through e-mails or bookmarks. Gotta get more organized!

Stretch. Especially sitting at work. Get the blood flowing again.

Chores. (OK, the fact that I put chores in the catagory of things to do when I have nothing else to do should tell you what my house looks like! Very artsy. Cluttered and artsy.)

Go to the bathroom. At work, it's a nice little stroll to the bathroom and back, and I might see someone to talk to.

Doodle.

Clean off my desk or purse.

Ten On Tuesday

10 Cities You Could Live In

Lincoln, Nebraska

Madison, Wisconsin

Seattle, Washington

Kansas City, Kansas

Sante Fe, New Mexico

Denver, Colorado

Salt Lake City, Utah

St. Louis, Missouri

Portland, Oregon

San Fransisco, California

Ten on Tuesday

10 things You Like About Your Job

We get good vacation and sick leave, and you get more the longer you're there.

Twelve paid holidays. Only in Nebraska could you get Arbor Day off (because this is where Arbor Day started)

After a year as a 'staff assistant' I got a better position in the same office, so I already knew everyone!

I've met some awesome friends there, life friends, not just work friends.

I'm finally making almost what I was making at my wonderful job, which was four years ago this month.

We're right downtown, so we can get great lunch.

It's only about 7 minutes from home, and I can easily come home for lunch to spend time with my guy. (Because our schedules are off, and that's one of the only times I get to see him.)

There is some amount of challenge to the work, so I don't get bored, but it's not high pressure.

Most of my work is done on the computer.

I get to use my breaks to work on projects. And since my job itself isn't creative, I don't burn out creatively.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Things You Don't Like About Your Job

First, let me say that I was happy to see that next week's 10 Things is a balance to this week's. Because I am a 'glass is half full' kind of gal, and because I believe there is duality in everything, I was going to add disclaimers to most of this list. But the other side of the story will be next week, so I won't worry about that now.

We have to peg in and out, and account for all our time.

The building we work in has ventilation problems or mold problems or both, a lot of us have allergy problems only at work.

There's no free parking.

The team I'm on doesn't get along great as a team. We get along ok individually (and one person on my team is a great friend) for the most part, but not as a team.

The work I have to do every day varies, some days it takes all day, other days just a few hours.

The cube walls are paper thin. We can hear every phone call, nose blow (and other body noises), radio, fan, and conversation of our closest cube neighbors.

The managers are not taught how to be good managers.

There is no cafeteria in our building, and not so great snack machines, either.

There is a small group of middle school gossips that even tho I luckily don't have to work too closely with them, they tend to infect the rest of us with their gossip.

And the number one thing I don't like about my job: It's not creative!

Ten on Tuesday

10 Interesting Websites You'd like to share

The Thing Of The Day My other blog, that I do with my guy. Every weekday, we each post a Thing.

FixYa New to me today. A cool site where people can give advice on how to fix things.

Crafster Craftopedia Crafster is an awesome crafty forum, and the craftopedia has tons of info on every craft imaginable.

Post Secret A collection of secrets written on postcards. They are funny, touching, scary, and inspiring.

WikiHow A Wiki Encyclopedia of how to do anything.

Game Table Online You can play cool board games solo or with others online. And they are still giving away free lifetime memberships!

Etsy The online store for selling arts and crafts. I plan to be opening my own shop there soon.

Creative Whack From "A Whack on the Side of the Head" by Roger von Oech, the King of Creative Thinking. Hit refresh for a fresh Whack.

The Cute Project Sometime almost too cute for even me! The most adorable photos of cute animals. When you need an 'Awwwweeee' moment.

Grow-a-Brain A blog full of cool links in fun catagories. A daily must-read.

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things You Will NEVER Do Again...*

Glue my fingers together with superglue just to see if it really works

Be afraid to use lots of colors together

Buy supplies for everyone else, and not buy myself something

Paint without spreading newspaper underneath

Forget to leave seam allowance

Nail my project to the furniture

Be too shy to take a photo

Use a hot glue gun far from a water source (or burn cream)

Give something I created as a gift without trying it out first to make sure it won't break

Be my own worst critic

*Thinking about this list, I realized it has the potential of being very embarrassing (I'll never again wear a skirt with no undies on a windy day) or very sad (I'll never again be pregnant and have a baby), so I decided to stick with this blog's creative slant, and make my list of things I'll never do again in the realm of arts and crafts.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Countries You'd Like to Visit

Peru
I'd love to see Machu Pichu, and I love Peruvian music. Plus, my cousin lives there.

Czechoslovakia
Some of my ansestors came from the Bohemia region. And I really want to see the Czech glass bead factories.

India
I love everything Indian, I love Bollywood, I love the food. I want to see the good parts, of course, and skip the caste stuff.

Ecuador.
Because I was going to put Galapagos, but I needed to look up if they are their own country, and turns out the islands are a province of Ecuador, the islands are part of Ecuador's national park system. I want to tag Galapagos penguins.

Australia
I'd love to see the countryside that was traveled across in "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"

Italy
Other ansestors came from Sicely, I'd love to see that country.

Switzerland
I was there in college, and didn't get to see everything. I'll have to add Holland as an extra, because we went there on the college trip, too, and I didn't get to see enough of it, either.

Egypt
Piramids? Need I say more?

Jamaica
Would love to vacation there, mon.

Ireland
Some of my further back ansestors came from there, and my kids have plenty of Irish in them, they're both redheads. My guy is Irish, too. I am drawn by the Celts.

Ten on Tuesday

(Yes, I know it's not Tuesday anymore, but it's my first week)
I searched around a lot for a good Tuesday Meme. At first I wasn't sure if this was the right one, but considering that one of my internal projects right now is gratitude, and this week's list is 10 Nicest Things That People Have Done for You, so I guess this is the right one after all.

10 Nicest Things That People Have Done For You

The counselor and CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife) team that helped me have a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarian) with my second son.

My boss BC at my wonderful old job (the job that 'left me'), when after three years of agonizing over the toughest decision I ever had to make, and I finally told her I couldn't move with them, she told me that she would have done the same thing if she were me.

My guy, 20 years ago or so, when he switched seats at a hypnotist show, and started a spark that neither of realized was there at the time.

My high school art teacher, Ms. D, who really helped me see myself as an artist.

My Dad, always fixing my cars. And not to leave out my Mom, who always finds cool things for me, ideas and problem solving, stuff at the thrift store, or stuff from her basement. ;p

Good friends who listen to all my craziness! (you know who you are, but specifically C, R, J, B, K, and AL)

My brother, for being the 'cool uncle' that can (and will!) take my teenagers places that they wouldn't be caught dead with their mother, and I wouldn't be caught dead letting them go by themselves. Like their first concert, or a late night outdoor movie.

My junior high vocal music teacher, who explained to me that being a Second Soprano wasn't like being second best, it was the harder part in the middle that needed especially strong singers. That analogy has held true for me on a lot of things. Plus, she inadvertently really taught me the 'when the door closes, a window opens' theory is very true.

People who stopped when my car broke down a few years ago, and everyone who stops when they see someone broken down. As the world is more and more full of cell phones, some people might assume the broken down car doesn't need help, but it's so great when they stop to check if you're alright. (I consider people stopping to help as a benefit of living in Nebraska-one big small town)

Right this minute, at this step of my life journey, I have to put Allison Lee of Craft Cast on this list. I've been listening to every single one of her podcasts in the last couple weeks (I'm almost caught up, then review time), and she has such a great theme to her show, no matter who the guest is. "Find your creative voice" "Put your butt in the chair". You know how all the things you hear, see, read, etc, all combine together and change who you are? Without getting too personal here, I'll say that this was just the right time for me to listen to her shows. It all goes together so well. There is a plan, we just don't know yet what it is. Like the quote on my computer wallpaper at work: "Be willing to relinquish the life you've planned so as to have the life that is waiting for you." --Joseph Campbell