Down the Rabbit Hole

My sister, L2, is getting ready to go to Haiti with her husband for the first of two trips, which will culminate with the adoption of their fourth child.  In true L2 style (which is why I really love her), she decided to try and collect 100 homemade rag dolls to take with her.  The dolls are needed in less than two weeks.*  I'm hoping to get 10 dolls done and so far I've recruited people to make about 15-20 more dolls.  Wednesday, which was the day that L2 and I started sewing, 100 dolls seemed impossible.  Today, it looks like we're going to make it.  This is one of the reasons while I love the Internet.**

Sewing actually makes me kind of nervous, though.  The last time that I did a lot of sewing was when I was well and truly crazy.  I was off work on disability because I was so crazy, and I took everything to the extreme.  Because I wasn't working and we hadn't planned for me to take 12 weeks off, I was trying to do things as frugally as possible.  Frugality is a good thing, but not the way that I was doing it.  (True mania is nothing like you see on TV and is one of the most frightening things ever.  I was scared enough living in my own body--I can't imagine what it looked like from the outside.)  I was basically bat-shit crazy and I was making all of our soap.  (Yes, you read that right--I was making our shampoo, body soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, etc.  My mother was terrified that I was going to burn myself with all the lye I was using--either on purpose or by accident because I really wasn't thinking straight.)  I decided to stop using the dryer and hung all of our clothes on clotheslines.  Drying outside is good, however the crusty socks and underwear that you end up with isn't good.  I also made lotion (which needed to be refrigerated because it didn't have any preservatives in it) and baked all of our bread, from a recipe that I invented.  I was kind of like Donna Reed on speed.***  It's been almost four years since I've really sewn anything.  I am working own on not obsessing...I have an obsessive personality and it is very easy for me to get swept away while doing something.  I don't want to feel like that again. 

On the job hunting front...I talked to a guy today that owns a company and they are looking to expand into my city.  After talking to him, this is the first job that I am really excited about.  It is perfect for someone with my background and experience level.  It would be challenging, there would be some creative elements to it, and I would be valued.  I have and interview with him on Wednesday, so keep your fingers crossed.  This is the first interview that I've had for a job that I really want.

Finally, some things on the Internet that I didn't come up with (but think are cool).

You Didn't Thank Me For Punching You In The Face  Although I am not in love with the language that this article uses, the message is a great one for parents.  As girls, we were all told that boys teased us, pulled our hair, etc. because they liked us.  This article explains why we shouldn't say things like that.  Since we had bullying hit very close to home recently, I am extremely grateful that no one at Sweet Pea's school justified the little boy's behavior with that whole "he's doing it because he likes you" line.


Juanita Weasel  If you aren't a reader of The Bloggess, you are missing out on the awesomeness that is Juanita Weasel.  It can't be explained--it must be experienced. 

*They didn't get a lot of notice for their trip.  On this trip they have a court date and need to file about two tons of paperwork with the Haitian courts.  They will get to meet their little boy, who is 4, and then they'll go back to Haiti again after the court finalizes their adoption.  We have our fingers crossed that everything will be complete by the end of the summer/early fall.  Haiti is actually a pretty fast adoption country.  (L2's other children are from China and Ethiopia.)

**Thanks Al Gore.  (Both the real Al Gore and the Al Gore that I used to work with.)

***I like that, it rhymes.