I haven’t blogged in awhile, mostly because no one cares about reading them and I feel like blogs tend to be a bit on the braggy side.  I suppose that’s what this is about, but in my mind I’m doing it to list off the projects and goals that I’ve set and completed.

Since derby has taken up a good chunk of my time, I haven’t had much time to devote to photography.  There’s also another reason why but I don’t feel like talking about it right now since I’m still pretty hurt about that.  Anyway I’ve had a few jobs here and there but I’ve not really talked about them.  I’ve got a few scheduled for the spring and summer, and if I can get time to redo my website to something flashier (I despise Flash websites but apparently it looks more “professional”) I’ll probably try to do that.

Roller derby is kind of my new thing right now.  It’s a lot of fun, the girls are wonderful.  I like that I can have conversation with women and it not be about kids all the time.  I kind of fear women these days because everyone I know that has kids wants to just blah blah blah about them and since I don’t have them, I’d really rather talk about something else.  A lot of the derby girls are mothers, with full time jobs, and they still manage to kick ass on the track every week several times a day.  They’re great role models and they’re very down to earth – my kind of people.

Now on to the things that have been occupying my non-derby time.  Since I’ve got knee troubles, I’ve been trying to use my craftiness more instead of going bike riding and such.  I’ve been doing little projects so far just to build up my confidence.  It’s possible that if I can get the effort going and the time that I might set up an Etsy shop and sell some things through LaBellaFlor.com, but that’ll be a little down the road I think.  I’ve got a few friends right now that are pregnant and I am going to make little baby trinkets for them.

Here’s what I’ve completed:

The first thing that I’ve done in this flurry of creation is an Infinity Dress.  It’s basically a circle skirt with two long and wide strips of fabric that is sewn onto the front of the skirt and then tied in any fashion that you choose.  There are millions of ways to tie this thing, but without a guide I have no clue.  I have a second idea for this and it’s a bit closer to the version that American Apparel sells.  On that version there is a bodice sewn on the skirt and the long strips are then connected to that.  It makes hiding skin on the torso a bit easier and you can use it as a dress, skirt or shirt much easier than the original Infinity.

Second thing on the list is the beginning of the master bathroom remodel.  When we bought our house, it was severely under market value.  In addition, we were successfully able to talk them down another $10,000.  Now with a house that low in price, it’s expected that there would be a little damage to some things or other things not right or just ugly.  Luckily there weren’t too many things wrong with ours, the exception being permanent discoloration of the vinyl flooring in several rooms due to rugs.  The master bathroom has this issue, but also has no color on the walls and a plain-jane oak-laminate vanity.  Menards was having a sale on vanities and tops, so a few months ago we purchased an unfinished oak vanity and a granite/silkstone sink top.  I spent a couple of days staining the vanity with a mahogany color that is both romantic and warm.  The new vanity has pull out drawers now so that I might be able to remove the little one I have in there for makeup and other essentials.  Next is ceramic tile and a new coat of paint.

The third thing that I’ve completed is another circle skirt for roller derby.  I really only have one skirt that I use and it’s from when I was in high school.  It’s a bit long and I don’t really want to hem it shorter, so I just made a different one from some corduroy material I had sitting around.  It looks alright with my referee shirt, but I was playing around with it and it looks pretty neat with some other clothes I have.  Dual duty!

Finally the last thing I’ve completed is the standard window curtain.  Andy and I went to Ikea not too long ago and I saw this wonderful fabric there and had to buy it.  I would like to make a business card holder and maybe a tote bag out of the remnants, but for now I’ve made a curtain for our kitchen window.  Before it was a horrible plain brown curtain from Walmart (I had to get something different from the stupid plaid one before in a hurry!)

and now it’s a fun gunmetal grey pattern.  This will look sweet when we paint the kitchen olive and put tiles as a back splash above the cabinets.

Speaking of kitchen, another project I’d love to try is painting the counter tops.  This *sounds* like a horrible idea, but I’ve found a tutorial that makes it look exactly like marble for about an 1/8th of the cost.

So now on my plate are more clothes (I’ve got a few dresses in the works), messenger bags, a few more totes/purses and the aforementioned baby stuff.  House improvements, planting trees, making more coasters, reupholstering the chaise lounge I bought from CraigsList and I hope to finish my new skate bag before try-outs in the summer.