Practice Bottle

Last week was “D-Day” for me, as in “get your damn a** into the Colorado Potters Guild’s studio day” and make use of your monthly dues already.  Otherwise I should just write the treasurer a hefty annual check and consider it a charitable donation – though I don’t think the IRS will allow me to write that one off….

I don’t want to dwell, but humor me for just a tad…school really took a toll on my life over the last 10 months. I have high expectations of myself and when I decide to do something I give 200% effort and not just 100%. Here’s another confession – I’m really competitive and I was trying to keep up with my peers who are a good 10-20 years younger than me and who have few obligation outside of school. This attitude is not really a healthy way to approach some activities when doing so extracts more than it gives. My health suffered in a way that makes me feel run down with little energy to spare and I felt much like I imagine a hamster feels some days – just running full speed ahead on my little wheel that goes no where really fast – pass the NoDoz please.

Luckily, my family was really understanding and were very supportive of my education endeavors the past year. AND fortunately my husband and I didn’t really get into any major arguments last year – but this could be attributed to the fact that I was more like a roommate than a spouse. After all, I did provide him with ample ammunition to add to his argument arsenal that he didn’t use or hint at even once. He is so wise (sometimes) ;D Thank you! On the flip side, my daughter is morphing into a temperamental creature also referred to as a teenager and is now demanding more space (and doing so with mucho attitude I might add) while she figures out who she is.  So our relationship is still very much intact despite my school obligations, only now I possess an uncanny ability to embarrass her without even trying. That’s fun!

But, back to clay & blogging…somewhere during the spring semester around 2/3 of the way through, I made the decision that I can’t take a full load of classes, be an active member of my family & find time for activities that I enjoy doing that round out my humble little life such as working with clay, exercising, gardening, hanging with friends, and recreational reading. I have to qualify the last activity because I’m doing plenty of reading in school – just not necessarily the fun kind.

Before you think that I’m going to announce that I’m dropping out of school, let me put that to rest right now. “Oh non, non cocodrie“ (said with my best Cajun accent – that bit is a phrase left over from a kid’s song that my daughter used to listen to that won’t leave my brain no matter what I do even on a Sunday morning not yet fully caffeinated )  - I’m just taking it at a slower pace by letting some of my ego go. So what if it takes me an extra year to finish, right?  I’m already over 40 years old – that’s something that’s not going to change no matter what I do. Conversely, by not taking it a little easier, I lose out on many other opportunities, activities and interactions with people.  Hopefully, my schedule adjustment will restore a little balance in my life and I can be a better partner to my husband & mother to my daughter, be a better friend, student, potter & blogger.

Speaking of blogging, I really missed my blog, reading your blogs and the interaction that joins clay people all over the world.  When I received my annual hosting renewal notice in March, I almost didn’t fork over my credit card.  But there was something troubling me in the back on my mind that convinced me to pony up the $$ to renew hosting and I’m glad that I did.  It feels so right to jump back in and hopefully, I can reconnect with the clay community again – I’ve missed you!

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Have young children?  Like Cajun music?  Then Cajun for Kids: Papillon is for you. Music is guaranteed to entertain and lyrics will remain stuck in your brain for life.

Yes – I’m tweaking my blog template.  I found Suffusion WordPress theme by Sayontan Sinha and love the options & layout.  I just need to alter the colors ever so slightly.