Thoughts on taking a week off...

When I first arrived here and met my co-host, Jenna, she told me that she had taken two separate weeks "off," meaning she opted out of taking a class that week. And I nodded and smiled but was really thinking, "are you crazy?! The classes are why we're here! It is literally our payment. Why would you choose to not take a class?" But then I took three pretty intense classes in a row, and couldn't resist a weekend workshop taught by Phil Jamison (one of me & Kenny's heroes) on top of it all, and all of a sudden my closet was overflowing with the products of those weeks, projects half done, a million bars of soap that needed to be photographed and uploaded to my Etsy store, a new sweater to finish, and my room was a wreck. We all know that when your room is messy, your head is messy. And so... I took a week off.

AND IT WAS AWESOME. I caught up on my Hulu queue while working my way steadily up the body of the Fair Isle sampler sweater that I started in week 3 (see a picture of the work in progress here!). I posted the polymer clay stuff I made in week 4. I sold a really good portion of the soap I made in week 2 (thanks, Facebook friends, for the buys!) which means I walked back and forth to the P.O. more than 12 times. Good thing it's close by and the weather this week has been awesome. I helped Liz move out of her house; I talked to Kenny on the phone more than I had since I arrived here; I lost an additional 2 pounds (which I have since gained back, but hey, they'll come off again) putting my current total at 7 since I got here. See, I can fit into the jeans I bought at the end of the Master Cleanse I did in April! I made a pile of give-away clothes. I took long walks around the Rivercane trails while catching up on old podcasts. I started two new physical challenges, the 100 Pushups and the 200 Sit-Ups challenges (which have the most awesomest iPhone apps ever, making it possible to do my daily challenges absolutely anywhere and at any time). Join me; I just started!

Let's see, what else did I do? I went to dance practice; I sent a sweet 3rd grader back at home a care package; I cleaned my room. I worked a bit on my sort-of-a-quilt. Oh yeah, I ordered a new SIM card and made my replacement phone work! Ta da! And made some progress on selling the old one.

All in all, it was a really relaxing, and yet productive, week. I feel totally refreshed and ready to take another class. This evening I begin a week of papermaking and print making (called "Make the paper and print it!", fittingly enough.) I have been researching Bread & Puppet-style woodblock fonts and dreaming of wedding invitation graphics. I'm way more excited about the printmaking than the papermaking, but who couldn't use some of their own handmade paper? I can use it to wrap soaps... or to send nice cards to people... or maybe even to write out our vows on. Hmm. Feel free to chime in with more suggestions. Another great thing about the class is that there are only 4 of us in it, and it's in the basement of Keith House (where I live) which makes it super easy to get my work and my living done in a neatly efficient way.