March already! How did THAT happen? March is birthday month at our house. Everyone in my family- except me. My youngest is turning 16. My oldest is turning 19. My husband is fast approaching 50. It will be a whirlwind of gifts, dinner out, cake and ice cream. We don't do "big" birthdays at our house. Some gifts, a favorite meal or a meal out, cake and ice cream with the local extended family. Sometimes friends come over for a "party" - nothing extravagant. Food. Loud music. More food. Cake. That's about it. We were never "themed party" people - even when the kids were little. There weren't parties every year, unlike many of their friends. So many kids now expect their parents to lavish them with whatever they want. I like our low-key approach better. Now that our oldest has crossed into the "over 18" crowd, the extended family will give her a card. Even before the economy tanked, we all have tried to stress getting together as the important part - not the gifts. Difficult to get everyone on board (some still aren't there...) but it's getting better. March tends to go by very quickly, and ends with a sigh of relief and eagerness to get on to spring!

wanting what's best

I've always wanted to do my best. In school. In sports. In art. In caring for myself. Not THE best - MY best. So, it is always hard for me to deal with people who "settle". Does this mean I'm a perfectionist? Not sure. I think it's made me a good craftsperson. I'll ditch a piece if I don't think the quality is up to snuff. I don't want my pieces to be perfect - I like what happens when I try something and it turns out differently than I expected. But, if I think a piece's functionality is compromised - then it has to be altered, or chucked.
There is always room for improvement. There will never come a time in my life when I can't learn something new. I'll take the challenge of learning something new over feeling defeated any day! I think it has to do with how I was raised. I don't know how many times I heard my mother say "Oh, you could do that!" Or, "I'm going to try to make that.." She is always trying something new - and excelling at it! And my dad - a doctor for nearly half his life, takes up painting when he retires and can't paint fast enough to meet the demand for his work. It's all in your attitude! You can't possibly be successful if you don't even attempt things.
So, down with "I can't"! Let's all challenge ourselves to learn something new this week!

Well, here goes! This has already been a year of firsts for me! First website, now my first blog!
So, did the groundhog see his shadow? I've been so busy, I didn't even notice! I'm always just happy we've made it into February - it just sounds better than January!
More later - all this technology has worn me out!