resolutions – Cheryl Sleboda – Textiles. Technology. Texture. Teacher.

Letters – One of my resolutions

Jan 04, 2011 Muppin Comments Off

When I was young, I loved getting letters. I loved writing letters too. I had many pen pals. I saved all of my letters, including all of the notes passed to me in High School, and they have traveled with me the many times I have moved. My friends who have helped me move have all had a laugh over the boxes labeled “old mail” and “high school notes”. I keep all personal mail sent to me: cards, postcards, letters, all of it…
When I lived in Baltimore, I wrote my sister (who had just started college) a postcard about once a month. Sometimes I got one back. Those were “good mail days”. I always thought it would be fun in our old age to laugh over a shoebox of old postcards we wrote to each other. I was sad it didn’t last and now I live about an hour away from her. Emails or texting takes place of that random postcard.
I also LOVE stationery. I have a box full of that too. Some of it’s very old, from when I was a kid and had all pink, candy-colored note sets. Some, I just bought. Some I have only one left of and can’t bear to write on!
I tried Postcrossing a while ago, and got some neat postcards from all over the world. But sometimes you want a personal letter and that’s what I’m planning to do.
This year, I plan to write a letter/postcard/note a week. Some are letters long overdue. Some are for friends I know would love to get one. And some may be to a stranger I have just met.
If you’d like a letter, send me an email (in my profile in the upper left) with your address and I will add you to the queue. No promises! 🙂

Starting off with something new in 2010

Jan 01, 2010 Muppin Comments Off

One of my goals for 2010 is to blog more often. I wasn’t very good at this in ’09 and I can be better in ’10.

To that end, and to try my hand at something art-y, I decided to try a little cartoon.

I warn you, I CANNOT draw. Really, I have no perception of depth or balance in this arena. So these aren’t going to be the best, but I can try. I do work in the comic industry and have spent 2/3 of my adult life reading them, so I should be able to get some strips going. I can do cutesy little faces and blobs, but real items and backgrounds are NOT my thing.

My plan is to do one a week. We will see how this goes!

One of my next posts will be about my weekly quilt series in 2010. I hope you’ll stay tuned for my adventures.

Part of my New Year 2009 Resolutions

Jan 04, 2009 Muppin Comments Off

One of my big New Year Resolutions is to be more eco-conscious. This year, my resolutions were a bit broad, with each having 3 specific goals. So, “Be more eco-conscious” has the following 3 goals for this year:

-Reduce the amount of plastic I bring home. This means plastic bags, plastic containers, etc., including food containers, which DH and I recently discussed. During the holidays, I gave almost all of the “gladware” I had away to my dad, and we recently bought some glass “refrigerator dishes” from Goodwill. On eBay these things go for over $20 each, mine were $3.99 each. And we recycled by not buying new!

-Recycle and repurpose. If you don’t have to buy new, don’t. We can also make a better effort to recycle anything that can be put in the recycling bin.

-Continue to “Use It Up”. While I was able to buy shampoo and regular soap because I needed it, I am still not buying lotion or handcreme until I use up my stores.

Now, one of the coolest things I did to recycle came this weekend. I’m trying not to continue to buy boxes of tissues, because I go through a lot of them. So last month I decided to buy some hankies and use them instead. I had been eyeing some in a catalog for $30 for 12, but stopped by and antique store yesterday, and found some for $1.50 each. A quick wash and dry, and they are just as nice as the ones from the catalog. (Yes, I could make them also, but there’s a whole time issue there…for now).

While at the Antique place, I spied an old treadle machine, cabinet and all, price tag $65. The machine appeared to have been electrified, so the treadle parts would not work anymore to power the machine. But, DH and I have been thinking about getting a table for our newly remodeled library for a lamp that I “freecycled” from dad’s garage. $65 is not bad for a nice table, so off to the antique store I went today to purchase. Included in the deal was a second sewing machine “head”, should we want to convert it back into a working treadle. Not many parts were in there, but the cabinet is in great shape, though refinished/restained by the previous owner. The second machine head is very cool, and will make a neat sewing room decoration for now. Take a look!

2008’s Resolutions

Dec 30, 2008 Muppin Comments Off

Looking back at my 2008 resolutions, I did some things well, and others… not so well. But here’s a quick rundown of how I did.

1. Continue the weekly quilt series. This time, each month will have a theme.
***Done and in the bag! I completed the entire year! Yay!

2. Start a new monthly series where the works are larger, 8.5 x 11 inches, vertical orientation.
***Well, after June, I go so busy traveling for work, only one project could be continued, and that was the weekly themes. So, after 6 months of faithful service, this one was retired. Boo hiss!

3. Enter my quilts into competitions. (3 quilts are started for entry into shows)
***Well, one was entered, and did not jury in. The other 2 never got finished. I love both ideas, and will still continue them, but with traveling over 21,000 miles for work, I think I can safely say “I did not have time”. I have given this topic the most thought in 2008, and I am not sure if entering shows is right for me just yet. I’ll try my hand at a few magazine entry contests first.

4. “use it up!” I buy so much personal care products that I have too much. This year, I am not allowed to buy more until I use up all of what I have on hand. Except fabric and art supplies… I can never have too much.
***I completed this one, and I have never been more happy to go and buy shampoo. I hoard soap and shampoo from hotels, and that kept me from buying any this year. I have the driest skin and crispiest hair you ever saw, and I won’t ever feel bad for buying (and using until it’s gone) a good bar of soap or bottle of shampoo. I still, however, have tons of bottles of lotion and handcreme that I could bathe in and still not use up. That will be for next year. This idea is going to be modified into a whole eco-thing for me next year.

5. Write more letters. Keep in touch with distant friends and family. Who doesn’t love to get a letter?
***I did very well on this mostly…. and again, traveling got a bit in the way, but I still love to give and recieve paper mail, so I plan to continue this into 2009.

6. See the bottom of the blog for the obligatory weight loss one…
***UGH. This SUCKED. I failed miserably at controlling my weight, and it’s spiralling out of control. A doctor’s visit will again be in order in 2009 to get this under control for good.

7. Blog more!
***Well, I added the “B.W.O.” link to the right because I should not feel “obligated” to blog. For me, that takes the fun and the life right out of it. I know it’s a great way to keep in touch with my friends, so I do want to make updates when I can. I love to show off my artwork, and this is how I do so, so I have been trying to do that more. I will happily blog into 2009, and hope to post my resolutions soon!