DARING

During Michael's days of unemployment I:

greatly improved my racquetball game...
ate a lot of chocolate chip cookies...
was so very happy to be a part of a show (Annie Get Your Gun) so I could go away at night and feel right at home with other people pretending that singing cowboys and a gun slinging girl is the loveliest of realities...
saw my in-laws even more than usual--a fabulous thing--because a) they are in the country and b) they have a working washing machine...
did not buy anything on-line...
did not even once go to Target or Costco...
used our food storage...
praised Dave Ramsey's name up and down for having inspired us to create an emergency fund...
contemplated future pre-school employment...
was grateful for current pre-school employment...
sewed with fabric I already have...
read some really stupid books...

So, other than my absence from the retail world, you can see that not a whole lot changed for me. On one hand, that is a very good thing because I surely don't like change all that much. I will say that the experience certainly did emphasize the importance of emergency preparation (thank you, prophets!). On the other hand, not changing could be a bad thing because, as I see it, if we don't make some changes based on this experience, it is a wasted experience. So ta-ta Target. Farewell weekly stops at Costco. Mac Cosmetics, you and I are through for a while.

Michael, I'm sure, has his own list of lessons and applications, but he is a bit more closed-mouth about it all. Probably due to that male-thing... But I will say that he became a kinder, gentler Michael (not that he was all that bad before! Now look how good I've got it!) and we all enjoyed having him around more. Plus, my baseboards are all nailed up, my half-wall is half mudded, all our bicycle tires are pumped, and Lindsay has her house painted! I'd almost admit that the whole thing wasn't all that bad, but God reads my blog, and I am certainly not up to doing it again, so I'm not even putting that idea out there!

My mom asked me what I had been doing to stay sane during the last little while--she knows about me and projects! I really haven't tackled anything yet, but these are the ideas swimming around in my head. I just have to decide if I dare:

Do I dare? I think possibly.



Do I dare? Absolutely. I just have to figure out where!



The front door is begging to be painted again, and orange or bright blue are answering. Do I dare? Well, I do. But I do have this husband who did not like bright yellow with flowers...



Do I dare? Yes! I can just see all my beloved fabric and paper swatches put together like this...rather shrine-like...I just need another wall!



Do I dare? I already did! Thank goodness it was before Michael's no-job period!



Do I dare? You'd better believe it! I'd even break my non-shopping pact if I could find this little jacket somewhere! How cute is that?!


Do I dare? Probably not. I'm afraid Merrit would make fun of me. I'm awfully tempted, though. Thank goodness I've got a no shopping pact going...



The scissors are calling out to me again. I have learned not to touch them myself when they sing their siren-song, but it is time for a hair cut by a paid professional. Do I dare do the pixie? I am so tempted. But NO! I know better than that! I would end up looking like this:



Hideous. I don't dare.

But I digress...Let's move back to my project file:

(Not!)

And yes, that would be me riding a bike...in heels. Definitely a daring undertaking!