January Skirt

This year I set a goal to make myself one skirt every month. To make things even more complicated, I thought each skirt should somehow represent the month in which it was made. This morning I woke up and realized it's the 31st and I was about to blow my goal in the first month. In my defense, it's been a really busy month and I already sewed a dress for Ashley so I think I could have justified starting in February, but I set the goal and I decided to stick with it.

My theme for January would be thriftiness, since I always try to save money in January to make up for all the holiday spending. Funny how it's easier for me to go on a money diet than on a food diet. This skirt used to be a dress that never fit that well to begin with. I cut off the top, hiked it up a few inches, put on a waistband, and look what I have! Ok, it wasn't quite that easy since I added darts and curves and had to figure out how to get a waistband out of the smallest part of the dress, but it wasn't that hard either. If you don't count the cost of the dress, which was a sunk cost several years ago, the skirt cost me nothing. I reused the zipper from the dress, used up a couple almost-empty spools of thread, and already had interfacing and a hook and eye.

I still have a few finishing details left (ok, I'll admit it, the hem is taped up) but I swear I'll finish by tonight. As a side note, I learned a few things about taking pictures of myself. First, you can't take a picture in a mirror using a flash. Duh. Second, I now know how to use the timer on my camera. Third, this would have been much easier with a tripod.

Crash and Burn

I took a blogging break so I could focus on the holidays.  Now two months later the pies are made and eaten, the leftover Christmas ham is gone.  The only things that still linger are a few extra pounds and our artificial tree which is disassembled but lying in pieces on the living room floor.  I have high hopes that it will be in the garage by tomorrow.

My to-do list has been topped all week by "update blog" but more pressing matters keep coming up.  My very-part-time job is only demanding in January, when I have to wrap up the year-end accounting, file all the quarterly and annual payroll tax returns, and mail the W-2's (to employees who inevitably want them the first week of January but fail to update their addresses until the end of February).  I'm now behind in my paid job because of my new volunteer "job" as Stake Young Women's president at church.  In the last week I've probably spent over 30 hours taking care of church business.  I think that will calm down as I get acclimated but there are some big events coming up such as Youth Conference next month and a Tri-stake dance festival in June.  Not to mention visiting all ten of the wards in our stake, one of which is about an hour and a half drive from my house.

With all that to do, I was forced to slow down this past week because something happened to my back.  I'm not sure what it was, I didn't move weird or strain it, I was just walking around the house on Monday talking on the  phone and it started to hurt.  On Tuesday I could hardly walk and I spent most of the day in bed.  I survived Wednesday and Thursday with lots of heat and tylenol, and by today I'm pretty much back to normal.  I'm too young to have my body parts wearing out on me!

So here it is, the middle of January, and this is what I have to do:
1.  Buy groceries!  I couldn't lift anything last week or walk long enough to shop.  Now we're out of everything.  (Yes I know Mormons are supposed to have food storage for times like this and we do, but it's pretty impossible to make homemade pancake mix or bread when you can't move.  I guess I should add some convenience foods to our food storage.)
2.  Catch up on work.  Those W-2's won't mail themselves.
3.  Sew a dress for Ashley.  Her winter formal is the 29th.
4.  Sew a skirt for myself.  Now that I'm spending all this time in church meetings I need more skirts and dresses.  My goal for 2011 is to sew one a month.  More on that later!
5.  Email about a dozen people about various items of church business (planning lessons, setting dates for meetings, coordinating schedules, etc.)

With all these pressing things to do, what am I doing?  Yep, updating my blog.  After a week of running hard and fast (when I wasn't stuck in bed) I need a day off.  Or at least a couple hours.  The list can wait until tomorrow.