Projects

Well, my hope this week was to post a tutorial for you, but I am only half way done with the project, and the part I am done with would be okay to post all by itself, but kind of boring. I am planning on doing it in two separate posts anyways, but I would like to post the finished project with the first part. If that makes any sense. So how odd it is that this week is "Behind the Scenes."

So here you have it, behind the scenes at my house. Another unfinished, but hopeful project. It seems that I am good at that. Well actually the fact that I started it is good for me so it should be easy to finish. Behind the scenes I am not good at starting projects. I like to find the ones I like, and collect fabric, paper, or whatever other medium is required for the project. I just have a hard time actually cutting into it and starting! I just need to get that courage. That and when I start a project i have to finish it, but recently i seem to have lost that drive. Hopefully it will come back soon!

So that is behind the scenes here. It is not to say that it has been a lazy week, just busy. From "Pi" day on Monday, to the fact that leprechauns caused some serious havoc through my house. It has been a very busy and a very fun week. Oh and there was even sunshine today, and when there is sunshine here in Washington, the projects can wait!

What unfinished projects are staring you down at the moment?



PS Here is another thing I have been doing this week. I am in charge of Sharing Time this week in church. (I teach the little children at church.) The topic this week is "We are led by a living prophet today." I have been studying about President Monson, the president of the church. In the June 2008 Ensign there is a pull out section all about him. (I wish I could find the link online!) The other day I decided to read the first presidency message. It was President Eyring, "Safety in Counsel." It got me really excited for general conference coming up, and goes along great with the primary theme this month. I highly recommend it. It has definitely been helping me "behind the scenes" with primary.

The Eleventh Hour

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Let me ask you a question. Have you ever had this experience, whether with a party you've hosted, birthday presents you've given, or even Christmas gifts you've created or purchased for loved ones? OK here it is...you've felt relatively uninspired, but the occasion is approaching, and you have to do/give something, so you get or make something that will be appreciated and accepted with gratitude.

Then, it hits you...it's the day before the baby shower, or Christmas Eve or whatever and inspiration strikes! You've come up with THE perfect idea or gift that you must give that person, and all other ideas or preparations you've already made for the previous gifts are out the window.

No? Well, it's a regular occurence for me. Maybe it's the inner dialogue in the recesses of my brain that tell me I thrive and come up with the best ideas under pressure. Like the year in college I took basketweaving (pause here for laughter) and I decided in November that I would make a handwoven basket for everyone in my family. Crazy? Yes. Feasible? Probably. Genius? YES!

Or like this past weekend when I was making preparations for my daughter's 2nd birthday. I purchased a fun book and some summer clothes, and I felt a little badly that I hadn't made anything for her. Not that she would even know or care, but I do like to include a little "handmade from mommy" gift for the kids.

So Saturday night at 9:00 I started cutting into my rainbow stack of felt. And cutting. And cutting. Oh, this is going to be good. No patterns...just winging it. She's going to love it! I finished up around 12:30 Sunday night (Monday morning), and I did what I set out to do.

During the party and present-opening pandemonium, she hardly got a chance to look at everything, let alone appreciate the gifts so thoughtfully given by her friends and family. She doesn't know that I stayed up late making her gift, or that any number of her friends may have been scrambling at the last minute to get/make/wrap their gift to her.

My long, drawn-out point is, the gift recipient shouldn't know what goes on behind the scenes. The party attendees shouldn't know how you, the host, were inconvenienced by the appetizers that didn't work out or the hours it took to clean the house before they arrived. They should enjoy the fruits of your labor, and you'll enjoy the satisfaction that you've given them a gift or experience they'll cherish, just like I did today:

An Introverted Mama in an Extroverted World

Oh, I am definitely a behind-the-scenes girl. I'd much rather be making props or cue-ing lights than wowing the audiences front-and-center. While I am not shy, I am a classic introvert who needs time alone and prefers the periphery of social situations.

I recently learned that introverts make up only 25-30% of the population. So what's an introverted girl to do in an extroverted world? Especially when her children, like mine, are clearly extroverts? As with all things, I'm finding that honesty is the best policy.

If I'm honest with myself and with my family, I really do need that time I set aside for quiet projects by myself. Nap/quiet time in the mid-afternoon is not just for my children, it's for me too. And if I'm going to be a good mom the rest of the day, it's not a luxury, it's a necessity. In order to be really present for them, I need to be able to say to my children, "Just a minute, Mama's thinking."

And the way I see it, it's good for them too. They will hopefully learn patience, I like to think they'll be able to see the value in just being still, and when these little extroverts are front-and-center in whatever they do in life, they'll be blessed with a mama who's content to just stand back and let them shine.