No Slacking For Me Today

I'm now a couple steps closer to crossing some things off on my "Top To-Do's" list.

First off, I decided to try and spice up my look a little bit this morning. I slept with my hair wet last night (something that I have always loathed doing) and decided to add a little lipstick. Nothing too fancy. One day, I'd love to try some reds and pinks for dressier occasions, but today I thought I'd start off with a coral color. Anways, this is how it looks.




Secondly, I took off on a whim to Bowling Green today in search of a sewing machine. I've had several offers from friends and family that they would let me borrow one of their extra machines, but since I'm a beginner, I decided that I better go ahead and get my own in case something ever went terribly wrong and I blew one up. I'd feel much better about blowing my own machine up, rather than explaining it to someone else. Plus, a new sewing machine comes with a user's manual (as a novice, this is something that I definitely definitely need), whereas it would have been likely that the used machines I could have borrowed might not have had their directions any longer. So, I bit the bullet and bought my own. Here's my new friend.



A Brother LS-590. So far, I'm fairly pleased with it and was able to thread the needle and the bobbin myself (this is a tremendous feat for me). Unfortunately, I was not able to figure out the automatic needle threader, but my mom is coming over tomorrow to help work out the kinks. She's much more used to older model sewing machines, but surely to goodness she can figure it out! I trust her abilities. Anyway, it's nothing too terribly fancy. Not computerized. But still nice. It features 25 different stitches among other neat things that I've yet to fully understand. Thank goodness for that manual, right?

My good friend from So, I Sew (http://soisew.blogspot.com/) sent me some tutorials on how to "make" your own maternity skirts by taking a regular skirt, cutting off the top, and sewing on a portion of a t-shirt to create a "belly band." This a project that I will start working on as soon as I feel a little more comfortable with my machine. It doesn't seem difficult, but I'd hate to ruin all those pieces of clothing if I happened to mess up. I bought 4 skirts from Goodwill today at $3 a piece (a little more than I wanted to pay), but still a decent bargain. It's better than paying $20-&30 a skirt at a department store or a maternity store. So, we'll see how this project goes once I actually get started...

I Didn't Make Good On A Promise

If memory serves me correctly, I said in a former blog that I would make a list of some of the things I'd like to start doing this year. Call it a New Year's Resolution blog, or whatever you'd like. However, I'm not so sure that it's still acceptable to call it a New Year's Resolution blog simply because it's March. Am I a slacker, or what? So instead, we'll call it "Taylor's Top To-Do's."

I tend to be more of a dreamer than an actual doer. I sit around and imagine all the things that I'd love to be involved with or able to do. I think, "Maybe one of these days I'll ________________" (and this is where you could enter in any number of phrases). For instance.........

"Maybe one of these days I'll learn how to love my hair and find a cute,
vintage way of styling it."

"Maybe one of these days I'll be daring enough to wear lipstick without
worrying if I look like a circus clown."

"Maybe one of these days I'll find the plug to my keyboard, set it up
somewhere in the house, and start over with my lessons."

Or better yet...

"Maybe one of these days I'll find a really nice piano and use it
instead."

"Maybe one of these days I'll quit worrying about being skinny."

"Maybe one of these days I'll be able to sew and lose myself in yards of
pretty floral fabrics."

"Maybe one of these days I'll get my house to look exactly the way I want
with all the country fixins to boot."

"Maybe one of these days I'll find a really nice camera and become an
amateur photographer just for my own sake."

"Maybe one of these days I'll quit being so neurotic about double-checking
myself over every single, tiny, little thing."

"Maybe one of these days I'll start to write kids' books like I've been
saying for years."

"Maybe one of these days I'll start writing my life's story, like my
grandmother."

"Maybe one of these days I'll start sending out cards for any and all
occasions."

"Maybe one of these days I'll get my hands on a lovely set of blue and
white china, and actually use it!"

"Maybe one of these days I'll become awesome at using coupons and save
my family tons and tons of money."

"Maybe one of these days I'll learn to like more vegetables."

"Maybe one of these days I'll be able to cook effortlessly."

"Maybe one of these days I'll miraculously become crafty and try my hand
at decoupage and woodworking."

"Maybe one of these days I'll become a master gardener and will be able
to plan all my beds by memory, without having to consult any books on
which plants need sun versus shade, and what time of year."

"Maybe one of these days I'll own some chickens so Baby and I can go out
every day and collect fresh eggs."

"Maybe one of these days I'll make my own candles."

"Maybe one of these days I'll learn how to can and put stuff up for King."

"Maybe one of these days I'll try to play the fiddle, or the mandolin,
just because."

"Maybe one of these days I'll start going to auction sales and buy
furniture to fix up."

"Maybe one of these days I'll enjoy the thrill of running, although I
doubt it."

"Maybe one of these days I'll read some of the books that have been on my
list for years."

"Maybe one of these days I'll fall into a routine of getting up at 5:00
a.m. every morning so I can get crazy amounts of work done."

"Maybe one of these days I'll make it to Spain for Holy Week."

"Maybe one of these days I'll become fluent in a foreign language."

"Maybe one of these days I'll learn to drive a stick-shift."

"Maybe one of these days I'll quit putting off doing the dishes, but
highly doubt it."

"Maybe one of these days I'll go bird-watching."

"Maybe one of these days I'll do all these things....."


So there you have it. A list of things I'd like to accomplish at some point in my life. Some sooner than others. But oh well, at least I have a few of them written down and documented so that now I have no excuse to toss them aside as silly ideas. I keep thinking about that book/movie "Julie and Julia," (although ironically I've never read or seen either) and how she devotes herself to an entire year of Childs' recipes. Maybe I should set some kind of timeline for myself. Although I hate to break it to all you reading this, but there's absolutely no way I could accomplish all those things in one year. Not happening. No way. I'll have to sit, dream some more, and come up with a do-able time table for myself.

So, let's get started....

Now You Can Call Me "Momma"

So I've tried to keep you current on all the new things going on in my life. College graduate, check. New wife, check. Grad school drop-out, check.

Now you can call me "Momma." That's right! King and I are having a baby! I always figured that motherhood would find me one day, I just never thought I'd be so young. Twenty-three may not seem exactly "young" to you, but to someone like me who thought she'd wait until near thirty, then yeah, twenty-three is a little young! I'll have a seven-year-old by the time I originally thought I would start having kids.

We're beyond excited! A little taken aback, but still excited! We had our first prenatal appointment yesterday, and everything seems to be coming along beautifully! Praise God! As it turned out, I'm a little further along than we originally thought. We calculated that our due date would be Sept. 29th, but based on the size of our baby, our doctor moved the date up a week.

It was so neat to see our baby for the first time on the ultrasound. There's really no other way to express what you feel when you see that little baby on the screen before you, other than to say there are tons of emotions running through you. Joy, excitement, relief, nervousness. It's so hard to explain just how you feel when you realize that there's another living, thriving, growing person inside you. Wow, what a remarkable responsibility!

I'll try to keep you all posted on how everything's going to play out the next several months. At times, it will probably seem like a never-ending journey, that my pregnancy will never be over. And at other times, it will probably seem like it all flew by too quickly. Either way, I'm sure it will be an interesting ride, and King and I can't wait to experience it.