An Update on the Sofa Project

I have to say that I have learned a lot about furniture restoration and it is probably not the career that I want to pursue.  As I think about it this is actually my second sofa project; last year, I took our old sofa and recovered it for my daughter to take to college.  It was a completely different type of restoration from staining a leather sofa, but still not one I want repeat. Just like the current project, I'm glad I did it, but once was enough.

My leather sofa is coming along much slower than I anticipated.  I always seem to have a much more optimistic outlook on projects than I should.  Yesterday I worked on the sofa for about 4 hours.  These were the most challenging hours I have spent on the project.  I had to stain the back cushions, which are not removable, and to get to all the seams and crevices in the cushions took major maneuvering, but I did it.  Only half of a cushion to go!  Only one problem, I think I had almost as much stain on me as the sofa!  When my daughter walked in the house that evening the first words out of her mouth were "What happened to you!"  I did seem to have nice brown spots all over my arms and legs and somehow even managed to get a nice spot on my face.  Everyone who has seen it has positive comments, so that is good.  I even have a friend who said together we might tackle her sofas too.  The only one who is a little apprehensive is my dog.  She normally spends her mornings perched on the back of the sofa like a cat watching the birds and squirrels outside and I have definitely disrupted her routine.  She keeps looking at it, but won't get near it.  I guess she doesn't like the new color.

Today was a different day.  I got up and scrubbed all the stain from my limbs to look presentable because I had a job interview.   As it turns out, I wish I had not bothered because it was more discouraging than ever.  A business associate of my husbands had said that he was looking for an inside sales engineer.  My husband asked him if he minded if I sent him my resume.  He called me and asked me to come for an interview.  I guess that he thought he was doing my husband a favor by being nice to me, I'm not really sure.  I got to the interview and we talked for about 10 minutes about his job, what he was looking for, and my qualifications when all of the sudden he stopped and told me that he need to be truly honest with me; he said he really had no openings and had done all of his hiring prior to talking with me.  He spent the next 40 minutes telling me what a nice person I was and that the right thing will come along.  I tried to stay engaged in the conversation and listen to stories about his family and his suggestions on where I should try to look for a job, but the whole time I just keep wondering why he would waste his time and mine.  I really wish he hadn't even bothered, but I guess it might have made him feel like he was doing something good so at least one of us got some benefit from it. 

Oh well, at least the weekend is here and we have some nice things planned.  We are going to visit the Perot museum and do some more crafting.  There are only a few weeks left before Anna goes back to school and we want to enjoy our time with her.  Next week I will finish the sofa projects and have some other career ideas to pursue.

So Much for Commitment to Myself

I guess I failed already in my commitment to myself to write.  I fall so easily back into the job of mom and doing what needs to be done and putting my projects on the back burner.

My oldest graduated from college and went straight from there to an 8 1/2 week training program to be a flight attendant.  She graduated from training on July 23 and flew immediately to her new base.  She returned home on the 25th with her relocation date; she had to be in Miami, Fl and ready to fly her first flight on July 31.  That meant a road trip and  I became a relocation specialist for the next week.  We not only had to finish up the details of purchasing a car, find an apartment and get to Miami.  It is a bit of a nerve racking task to find an apartment over the internet in a city you are not familiar with, but we did it.  We were able to do everything over the phone and drive into Miami on Tuesday afternoon to pick up the keys and move in that night.  We purchased a bed and the necessary starter items for a new apartment on Wednesday we even managed to  make some time to get to the beach to have lunch.  She flew here first flight on Thursday.  Mission accomplished!  I headed for home of Friday.


Weekends don't really seem the time for me to write either.  I just couldn't seem to figure out a time this weekend.  I thought that maybe I didn't find time because I had been gone for a week and had to catch up. As I reflect back on the weekend I think it was just that we do things together so I don't feel as lost as I do during the week.  It is when there is so much quiet, alone time that I am lost. On a more uplifting side, I had a great weekend with my husband, brother and youngest daughter.  My daughter and I were crafters extraordinaire. 

Anna is a member of the Delta Gamma sorority and wanted to make crafts for her sorority little sister. We had hundreds of ideas so we started on several.  We painted drinking glasses and I expanded the idea from sorority to airlines.  I made a special glass for my oldest daughter and if I can say so myself, it turned out really cute.  We decorated letters and made letter shirts.  Not all of the crafts are complete, but we got a great start.  Maybe that is something I should pursue, but when I mention it to my husband he always says that it is too time consuming and you can't make any money.  I will keep that in mind.

 

Our completed crafts.  They look pretty good!

On Monday I went back to staining my sofa.  The progress is slow but the outcome is completely worth it.  I know that when it is finished it is going to look great!  I will keep you posted with the progress.  It is on my What Now? list to do tomorrow.  Tomorrow I will be furniture restorer again.

  
Tuesday I was Juror.  I was not at all happy to be down at the court house at 8:30 am, but it proved to be a kind of interesting day.  I have received a jury summons before, but have always been lucky enough to get dismissed and make it home by lunch time.  Yesterday was different.  I was actually selected.  I was dreading it but it was an all new experience to see it from that side.  This is not a career that I want to pursue, once was enough for me.

Today, well it seems like I didn't really accomplish much.  I got up and baked mini rum cakes to send to my nephew and son.  I try to send them care packages a few times a month just to let them know I am thinking about them.  I enjoy baking, not cooking.  My problem with baking too much is that if I bake it I eat it.  I used to tell my husband that my dream job was to bake cakes and decorate them.  Maybe I should reconsider that as my next career.  Andrew says all I would need to do is a great marketing job in order to make it a career. 

How are you supposed to choose what to do?  There are things I know for certain like I need a project or goal to work towards every day to work or else I feel like I wasted the day.  That's why I keep thinking that I need a job or a business.  I have pretty much concluded that working for someone else is not an option because no one wants to risk hiring a person who has been out of the workforce for 15 years, so a business is my goal.  I just have to figure out how to do it without disrupting the college tuition payment or the retirement.  Any suggestions?

I'm back! I was being a tourist.

I'm back!  Last Thursday I left for Chicago to accompany my husband on a business trip and didn't bother to take my computer.  To be honest, I wasn't sure if I  should write anything again.  I kept thinking to myself that it was silly and that no one would really care what I have to say and they would laugh at the thought of me writing anything, but I have 2 great supporters, my dearest friend and my son.  I wasn't going to tell anyone I know about my blog, but when I talked to my friend and my son, the subject just kind of came up and I told them.  My friend told me that if it made me feel good then do it and then in a conversation with my son today, he basically said the same thing.  Neither one of them laughed at me or said I was silly.  So here it goes.  As the new me I am making a commitment to myself to write every day and if I am not feeling good about it, then I will stop. 

I wanted to tell you about my trip because for one, I love traveling and discovering things and two, it allowed me think in a different setting.  So for the weekend I was a tourist. For two days while my husband worked, I wandered the city and enjoyed the architecture, art, and city parks.  My husbands colleague asked me what I wanted to see and I replied that I had nothing in mind but to enjoy the city and do things I enjoy such as take pictures.  I had no real goal and when I am traveling, that fits me. 

I covered the whole downtown area of Chicago and my feet have the blisters to prove it!  I started Thursday with lunch at the Park Grill in Millennium Park  with my husband and his colleague.  After lunch, I wandered through the park and enjoyed the sights; the Bean, the Big Head, and the gardens.  Then I headed toward my favorite building, the Chicago Tribune building to look at the stones in the side of the building.  Many people don't even realize that there are pieces of famous sites and building and even a moon rock set in the outside walls of the building.  We ended a perfect day with a ride on the ferris wheel on Navy Pier.

The next day I did more of the same.  I took the architectural boat tour and had a small bite to eat a Cyrano's Cafe and Wine Bar on the river.  Such an amazing setting.  Then I met up with my husband, his colleague and his wife and we headed to Wrigley field to see Gavin DeGraw and Billy Joel.  We headed home on Saturday. It was an amazing trip.  

I think I could be a career tourist, but I think it costs you money instead of making money.  I will have to think on that more. 

 

Today is a new day.  What is it I am going to do today?  Who will I be?

I have started with a yoga class which concentrates on gratitude, setting a purpose for the day, and taking time for yourself.  It is truly the most refreshing part of my day.  I'm not very good at it and I have learned that I have absolutely no balance, but it is still very refreshing as long as I remember that you can't be hard on yourself.

I have made a pact with myself;  I am going to re-brand.  I don't think it is going to be easy but I am going to do it.  I decided that today it will start with a new haircut.  I went to my stylist, Stephanie, and said "Make me someone new."  She cut off the long hair that I have had all my life and here I am with a short new bob.  It's a happy, bouncy haircut just like the person I used to be and want to be again.  It's perfect.  It's a great start. 

Now what?  Everyday I have a process to look for interesting jobs on the internet, fill out applications and follow up on those that I have sent out.  It hasn't worked very good, but I will continue the process just in case.  Our sofa is getting ugly and worn and with 3 kids in college, it isn't the right time to get a new one.  I am going to stain the sofa a different color - dark brown!  My husband will freak, but he will get used to it.  We have been married 29 years and he is pretty accustom to coming home to see my "PROJECTS" as he calls them.  Maybe I will find a new talent, something I can turn into a business.

I like the color and I have learned 2 things:  wear gloves because your hand look horrible afterwards (a good excuse for a manicure I guess) and you need a lot more stain than you think you will!  Oh well, the project will just take a little longer than expected.  2 4 ounce bottles of stain only covers 2 cushions, I never would have guessed it would take so much! I can't wait to see the finished product, but it will have to be next week because I didn't pay for express shipping.

I didn't find the new me today, but I did accomplish 2 things.  Tomorrow will be a new day and I am setting off on an adventure for 3 days.  Something we hadn't been able to do before because of all the responsibilities with the kids.  I am going to Chicago with my husband.  He will work and I will explore my opportunities from a different location.

Before

New Color

The Kids are Gone, What Now?

Everyone looks forward to that day when they drop their last child at college and head home.  We are empty-nesters at last!  The next major miles stone is when the last one is off the payroll.  That is all I have been hearing for the last 22 years.  For Dad, it was a great day.  He was so so giddy that he just can't quit smiling.  I'm happy for him, but all I can think of is what now?  Who am I?

I was a successful electrical engineer who was devoted to her career and then I had my first child and my world changed but I still  knew who I was and I had a plan as I always had.  Within 4 years, I had two more beautiful children.  They have been my pride and joy and for 22 year they have consumed the majority of my time.  When my first daughter was 6 we knew she had some kind of learning disability and I decided it was time to stay home and make sure she was successful in school.  On May 17, she graduated from University of Missouri and had a job waiting for her, so I know that I made the right decision.

Last September, I sent my baby to college and that is when my world changed.  For the first time in my life I felt lost.  I hadn't worked for 15 years and even though I had volunteered as many hours as a full time job, most of my volunteer work was for organizations my kids were part of, so that also came to an end.  I thought I was prepared, I had been looking for a "real" job for the last 2 years but had had now luck.  My thinking was that it just wasn't meant to be yet.  I still keep telling myself that, but some days it is hard to stay positive and believe that that statement is true.

Every day I get up and I say "What Now?"  Its a new day and with that I am determined to try something new everyday until I can find my new self no matter how hard it might be.  Today I am starting a blog.  It feels good just to say what has been hiding in my head for 2 years.  Its a good start!