The Six Minute Mile Project

When I was in high school, my goal was to run a six minute mile. Now I am not a gifted natural runner, but I ran track and cross-country because I enjoyed it and it kept me in shape. I worked and worked, and I eventually got to a 6:20 mile. And I could never get any lower than that.

I have decided to resurrect the six-minute mile project. If I couldn't do it when I was 17, what makes me think I can do it know, at 32, after 2 children, one quite recent, an exhausting pregnancy and a 30 pound weight gain that's sticking around too long?

I can actually do a lot of things now that I couldn't when I was 17. I'm not sure that running a six minute mile should be any different.

In case anyone is interested, you don't just go out and run miles really fast. Nope, you start with a reasonable goal, and you start running quarters, then halves, and then miles, and work your way down to your final goal.

Reasonable Goal: 8 minute mile
Quarter/Half/Mile
2:00 / 4:00 / 8:00 min
1:53 / 3:45 / 7:30 min
1:45 / 3:30 / 7:00 min
1:37 / 3:45 / 6:30 min
1:30 / 3:00 / 6:00 min

So, it starts today!

Handwriting Font

And then you can make this great calling card from Creature Comforts with your own handwriting!

Book Pocket

It's back-to-school time. Here in West Virginia, we are not allowed to purchase school supplies for our children, although of course we can buy them and keep them at home. The schools provide everything the children need. But for those of us with the new notebook itch to scratch, I offer a free template for a book pocket. I keep knitting patterns, grocery lists, pictures and other floating pieces of paper in mine. Print on cardstock, fold, glue into your notebook and have a spot for your bits and pieces.


Download the free pdf here

If it seems like I am doing a lot of printables lately, it's true. I am feeling the stress of sending my first child to kindergarten and sending my 3 month old to daycare. When I'm stressed, I design, and you benefit. Cheers!

Free Printable Wedding Invitation

This is a peacock-theme invite free for download. The suite includes a invitation, response card, and an envelope liner for an A6 envelope. The invite requires an A6 envelope, and a 4 bar envelope for the response card. It is shown with a sheet of red Japanese paper to illustrate how nice this would look in a red envelope. I myself would choose the ones from Paper Source in red.

The invitation suite is in Adobe Illustrator format, so that it can easily be edited. If you don't have Illustrator, feel free to contact me and if I'm not too busy I will put it into another format for you.


Download the Invitation & response card
Download the A6 Envelope liner

This design is copyright 2009 by Angela Dudek. You are free to use it and distribute it, but do not sell it. If you do I will track you down and call you really bad names.

Birdie Birth Announcement - Free Printable Download

Download a free birdie birth announcement here

Slowly But Surely - Craft Update

The Planets embroidery pattern from The Floss Box - in progress.

A sample quilted dot, practicing for a baby quilt from the Polka Dot Quilt pattern from And Other Silly Things

A Shapely Washcloth in Lily Sugar and Cream Rosewood Ombre cotton.

Lace scarf in Elann Super Kydd in Almond Blossom and Baby Silk in Seashell Pink, from a pattern in Feminine Knits by Lene Holme Samsøe

Polyvore World

Polyvore.com is a completely awesome site that lets you put together outfits or rooms from any products you can find on the web. Go try it out and lose many hours. Below, my bathroom renovation:

Bathroom by adudek on Polyvore.com

If Wishes were Fishes

I had an idea around 3am this morning, and that idea was this:
What would I do if I had no children?
Children are lovely, and bring a lot of joy to life. They also absorb an extraordinary amount of time and energy. So I thought, I'll make a list of things I would do if I didn't have children. And then I'll do them anyway.

Go to Paris

Sew my own clothes

Cook dishes that contain blue cheese, capers, or zucchini, all of which I really like

Paint my nails

Ride my bicycle

Walk to work

Go to the farmer's market

Wear expensive jewelry, silk dresses and pretty shoes. Maybe not on the same days that I walk to work.

Drink wine

Go on picnics

Go see grown up movies

Grill It Up - Portobellos in Heaven

We recently had a barbecue and I invented an entree for the veggie guests. It was a huge hit, so without further delay I give you the recipe for Grilled Portobello mushrooms with brie and lemon thyme. Just be prepared to be knocked over by greedy guests trying to get to these...

portobello mushrooms
olive oil
fresh lemon thyme
pepper and sea salt
brie

Oil the tops and bottoms of the mushrooms. Place a couple slices of brie on each mushroom. Top with sprigs of lemon thyme and grind over some pepper and sprinkle on the sea salt. Grill until mushrooms are shriveling a bit and brie is melted.

If you were ambitious, you could serve these on a slice of buttery grilled garlic toast with a little dressed frisee on the side.

Printable Stationery

I'm in love with printable stationery. It's instant gratification (you are emailed a pdf) and you print only as many as you need. And it's CHEAP! Here are some of my recent purchases:


Printable cherry blossom stationery set from print.abilities on Etsy. Free library card and envelope printables from creaturecomforts


Creature Comforts Personalized Owl stationery set from vanityclaire on Etsy.

More Outer Space and Craftyness

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, by Brian Floca

Planets Embroidery pattern at theflossbox.com

Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross


Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson

We're in Outer Space

It's all about space at our house these days (and poop, but you don't want to hear about that). We found this book at the library last night and read it before bed. What a great idea! Jack wants to visit all the planets and this book discusses what it would be like to go on a mission to the moon.



We recently bought him this poster and framed it and he sits in front of it naming all the planets.

The Question

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?

Making me Happy - June

Jack is so interested in outer space these days. Fortunately, we've got lots of space books, and we've gotten some videos from the library. I also came across these posters at art.com:


The vegetable garden in May:

The vegetable garden in June:

Post. Just post.

This should be post-partum, or post-pregnancy, or post-birth. But there has been so much going on, I can't sum it up in one word. Post-chaos, maybe.

We had a baby on May 10th, and I had a successful VBAC, and no, I didn't die, which almost never happens, but that's not the same as never. And then I had a major depressive episode and spent three weeks wishing I had died there in the delivery room. And then there were doctors and meds and sleepless nights and going back to work and money and all that. But Charlie is doing well, he's getting the hang of sleeping at night, and he's starting to smile and laugh. That makes things much easier.

It's hard. Sometimes I wish I wasn't here, but somewhere else alone. The desert maybe, watching the sun set, or Paris, sitting in a cafe and maybe not quite alone. Being a mother involves a certain loss of identity - you sometimes feel as if you are the least important person in your house. But you aren't; you are the most important person, but only for what you can give.

Cherry Blossom Time

It's spring in West Virginia. The dogwood and viburnum are blooming and the whole world smells like flowers.
 







Our new cherry tree in the front yard is doing beautifully. The purple irises I planted last year came up for the first time. Our vegetable garden is almost entirely planted, with much help from Jack as I am so pregnant I can't reach the ground.
 

Coming Home

One of my favorite games to play is the "If I Had all the Money in the World" game. Applying it to the specific situation of coming home from the hospital with a new baby, we have the following selections:
Silk and cotton dress from Victoria's Secret:

Sierra sandals from Coach.

In case it's a little chilly:

The gallery hobo from J Crew in pale gold:


And of course, we'd be driving home in this:

The lovely XJ-Type Jaguar.

Baby Sewing

Last night, in an unusual burst of energy, I did some sewing. I made a drawstring bag to hold a gift for a friend having a baby girl due April 17th. The bag is made from this pattern in striped linen, lined in flowered quilting cotton, and trimmed with a strip from a vintage flowered handkerchief. The ties are blue grosgrain ribbon, because I was too lazy to actually sew ties. Inside are a blue kimono and a peachy baby outfit with bib and little socks. Cute!

Cool Stuff for Today

Spell with Flickr





I thought that sentiment would be perfect for a nursery.



The prettiest spring dress in the world, from Burda magazine. Look at that gorgeous burnt-sugar bow on the strap - are these people color geniuses or what?

Mother's Day Card from LizzyClara on Etsy

Spring Fever

I admit, although I am very happy here in West Virginia and feel lucky to have everything that we have, sometimes I get wanderlust. For places with zoos and museums, restaurants, thin people, chocolate shops, bead and yarn stores, beaches, Italian ice (oh, how I miss you!). You know, bigger places.

I want all these things. I just don't want to have to live in an apartment and sit in traffic every day to get them. So the answer is travel, and it's been a while. New York in November was my last outing, and now that I am rapidly expanding, the travel choices are getting smaller and smaller.

Earrings for Spring

Since I have a job, a husband, a house, a child and am 7 and a half months pregnant and have so much free time, I decided I wanted to learn to make jewelry. So, off to the craft store I go.

I purchased gold ear wires, headpins and rings. These are gold-plated copper, the nicest thing AC Moore had. I bought a string of creamy freshwater pearls, a string of citrine chips, a string of amber, blue and clear crystal beads and a tube of amazonite chips, to go with the golden pearls I already have, going for a beachy, sun and surf type of look. I got a book from the library about jewelry making and will embark on this project soon!

Update 4/1/09 - this was a raving success once I got some longer headpins. The earrings are so pretty! I will take a picture as soon as I have one minute of free time.

Spring Flowers

Flowering quince and a hydrangea waiting to be planted.

The pea shoots are coming up. We planted pansies this weekend.

Springing into Action

Well, waddling maybe. The pregnant woman doesn't do a lot of springing. But what I did do:

Started a new spring sweater - DROPS 113-23

I'm doing it in a pretty sky blue cotton.

Bought pansies - These are always the first plants I buy. I like the purples and the yellows together.

Started my third Branching Out scarf - for me this time - in Cherry Tree Hill Glitter Alpaca. I've already got 14 repeats done.

Bought an MP3 player. I know, I'm 5 years behind, especially for a computer programmer. But the truth is, I don't have much interest in gadgets. They tend to break, and then I have to fix them. But we have an amazing new fitness center, and I wanted something to put my yoga files (from yogadownload.com, which is awesome) on so I can do my own little prenatal yoga routine there.

New for Spring - Off the Needles

Here is my just-finished spring sweater - DROPS 113-16 in Knitpicks Shine Worsted in Wisteria. So pretty! And such an easy knit - it is knit all in one piece and requires no finishing.

And some pretty things I picked up at the yarn store yesterday:
DROPS Alpaca in light blue

Louet Gems by Cherry Tree Hill in Foxy Lady

Cherry Tree Hill Glitter Alpaca in Green Mountain Madness

A bag of mill-end cotton for DROPS 113-23


It's always nice to have a full yarn cupboard!

Knitting Basket

I just returned from Michaels where I got some things to organize my knitting basket. I've been using a shoe box (from Target, no less), so I bought a pretty fabric basket with handles and pockets around the edges.

I also got a little round tin for stitch markers and other bitty things, and a flat tin to hold a felt needle book. Now I am totally inspired to make a knitting needle roll, too. I will take pictures of the lovely organized result when I'm done! I also got the spring/summer Debbie Bliss knitting magazine - so pretty and well-photographed. And, as always, with the world's most adorable baby clothes - I love the pea coat, the striped dress and the bunny w/ sweater.


Here is a picture of the basket with all my knitting bits and bobs, and the finished needle roll, which I made in striped linen and flowered cotton. It was very easy, and only took a couple of hours. I don't have too many needles (this is about half), since I have a set of Knitpicks Harmony interchangeable circulars, which come in their own neat ordered little case.