In the Interest of Transparency...

I have a confession to make. I fell off the wagon.

Just a few weeks ago, I came to you with this grand proclamation - I wasn't going to use food and inactivity as "rewards" or crutches anymore. I was going to get healthy for the sake of being healthy - not because I wanted to see myself in my high school jeans. I was going to make smart (not "diet") choices and add meaningful, goal-oriented activity into my life and simply allow my body to reshape itself accordingly.

Well, that worked... for exactly two weeks.

As of last Friday, I'd lost a total of five pounds in two weeks. FIVE! I literally went down a pants size and I was feeling great. I'd started my Couch to 5K runs again and felt like I was really on to something. I wasn't starving myself. I was, like I said, simply making better choices. And I was absolutely sure I was making changes I could stick with.

Last weekend, though, everything came to a grinding halt. I stopped caring, got mad and gave up. And you know what did it? One stupid meal. One stupid, giant restaurant meal that I just wasn't strong enough to say "no" to. So, basically, I decided I'd blown my entire week already so I might as well enjoy myself (rather, punish myself) until my next weigh-in.

Despite the fact that I've woken up every morning determined to work my way out of this rut, I haven't been able to get past the feeling that the damage has already been done. And so, in the interest of transparency, I'd like to share with you what has occurred in the past five days. My food transgressions have included:

1. One giant cheesey Mexican dinner followed by three large margaritas at home
2. Chinese take-out
3. McDonald's (ugh...)
4. A ridiculous amount of late-night snacking
5. Too much stupid calorie-laden wine in general

My exercise transgressions have included... well, not exercising.

So now, as of this morning, my hard-fought five pound weight loss has been reduced to a two and a half pound weight loss. Yes, I know - it could be worse. But I promised myself to take the high road this time around and not fall victim to these awful psychological pitfalls. Oops.

So, what's next?

Well, first of all, I'm not going to let the ENTIRE week be a fiasco. I've been weighing in on Fridays, so I still have today to turn things around (so far so good). Once upon a time I heard someone smart (Oprah, maybe?) say, "All you have is today and a choice..." So let's hear it for today and good choices.

Next, I'm going to need to take a good hard look at what got me so off track to begin with. It wasn't just the one meal, if I'm being honest with myself. There were other stresses involved this week. I felt victimized in other areas of my life, so I apparently gave myself permission to ignore my common sense. That shouldn't happen. If I'm frustrated, I need to find ways to deal with the frustration rather than wallowing in it with a huge chunk of cheese and big glass of Merlot.

OK, there you have it. I 'fessed it, I'll fix it. It's all about accountability, baby.

Consider me back on the wagon.

All About My Mom

Happy Friday, all. Thanks again to Facebook for a fun way to waste a few minutes. A college friend tagged me for this one and I couldn't resist. The idea is simple - ask your kid some questions and see what she has to say.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"Don't get in trouble."

2. What makes mom happy?
Being good.

3. What makes mom sad?
Ouchies.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Knock knock jokes.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Blonde hair.

6. How old is your mom?
Five fifteen.

7. How tall is your mom?
This tall (hand on my head).

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Work.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Go to the doctor's office.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Daddy.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Jumping rope.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Hockey, because she doesn't know how to ski.

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Play with me and make sure I'm safe. (covers me with kisses)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Quesadillas.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Playing with me.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Snow White.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Play in the sand, play games, have fun! (kisses me) I love you, Mommy!

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Wearing the same clothes and having the same ponytails.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Wearing different clothes and.... I'll be right back.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
The hugs.

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Chili's.

22. (She added this question) What makes Mommy burn?
Candles.

23. (Also added) What makes Mommy hurt?
A bad owie that's red and that's bleeding.

My Debut Album

Once again, thanks to Facebook for providing me with an amusing way to waste your time (you're welcome!). I was tagged for this one by Andrea Baker of This Mom's Life and Andrea Baker Designs. Here's how it works:

What would your album look like if you were in a band?

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random” or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover. Note: to respect copyrights, I didn't use Flickr. Instead, I went with one of those free stock image sites and used "funny" as my search term.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

Did you do it? Leave a link here so we can see!

I Swore I Wouldn't Do This...

Sorry to all my Facebook friends who tagged me in their "25 Random Things" notes. I've forsaken you and decided to post my list here. Why? Because it's Friday, I suppose, and I'm feeling... candid. Deep breath.... Here goes.

1. Aside from once when I was too young to remember, I'd never been on an airplane until I was 23. Growing up in a small town, I also had zero experience with public transportation. My first flight was solo, and to NYC. Learning to get around the city changed my life forever.
2. I talk waaaaaay too quickly, too loudly, and too much. I know this about myself, and yet can't seem to change it.
3. I have a tendency to change the subject or go off on strange tangents.
4. I am curious about everything and annoy my husband by asking questions constantly to which he can't possibly know the answers.
5. I had an adverse reaction to a prescription drug in 2002 that caused very pronounced Parkinson's-like symptoms for six months. I still experience tremors and myoclonic jerks from time to time.
6. I am incredibly, horribly, debilitatingly shy. I overcome it daily.
7. I mostly hate to talk on the phone. This does not mean that I mostly hate my friends, which they sometimes fail to understand.
8. I dearly love hot weather.
9. Lots and lots of random things choke me up - pageants, standing ovations, kids singing, marching bands (why?!), reading to my daughter... The list goes on and on.
10. Most days I feel pretty, regardless of my weight, my clothes, or whether I'm having a good or bad hair day. This has only been true since I hit 30.
11. I never wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. Now I can't imagine having taken any other path.
12. I've written poetry since I was a little girl, but have only shared a few pieces I wrote for a class in college. I have books and books and books full. I can't get rid of them, but don't know what to do with them.
13. I spent a year in college intentionally waking myself up from dreams to write them down in detail. Those journals are some of my prized possessions, but are way too personal for anyone else to see.
14. I pierced my own ears several times in high school while working after hours in a salon.
15. I absolutely love thrill rides.
16. I have a strange and horrible phobia related to corpses and large bodies of water.
17. I would very much rather be busy than bored. I go nuts when left alone with my thoughts.
18. I'm absolutely never satisfied. Never.
19. I need quite a bit of personal space. I don't like this about myself and want to get past it... or at least hide it better.
21. I sometimes eat bologna sandwiches for breakfast.
22. I was a print model for about 5 minutes (OK, maybe it was a little longer) in 1998. I found it incredibly strange to be paid for looking a certain way.
23. My hair caught fire once at a wedding.
24. My husband spilled an entire glass of red wine down the back of my dress at our wedding.
25. My life, despite my perpetual grumbling about minor annoyances, is really pretty great. I'm very lucky.

Have a great weekend!

Our Press

3/12/2008 ~ Wickedly Chic
Wickedly Chic Daily Ditties - Vintage Schoolgirl Notecards

4/21/2008 ~ WFAA TV Style Insider
Saying Thanks in Style

4/26/2008 ~ Keepsake Couture
Take 5 - Macaroni and Glue

10/13/2008 ~ This Mom's Life
EtsyFAME checkout Macaroni and Glue

10/20/2008 ~ Etsy Featured Artist
Macaroni and Glue

12/27/2008 ~ Mom Fuse
Etsy: Meet the Maker of Macaroni & Glue

01/01/2009 ~ The Bride and Bloom
Spring 2009 Issue - Gina and Sadler

04/09/09 ~ Maternal Spark
Featured Creative Mom - Kelly of Macaroni & Glue

06/06/2009 ~ Cafe Handmade
Mommaprenuer: Kelly Drill, Macaroni & Glue Handmade

10/15/2009 ~ The Bad Cat
Mmmmm.... Pasta and Paste

11/26/2009 ~ The Creative JAR
Full of Thanks

Copy Writing and Editing Services

You knew I was a blogger. You knew I was a mom. You knew I was a stationery designer and all-around crafty gal. But did you know I'm also an experienced copy writer and editor? If you have the project, I have the skills!

With over eight years of experience writing and editing for a wide variety of audiences, I bring to the table a keen eye for detail, exceptional research skills and the ability to preserve your voice while fine-tuning your content. Together we deliver a clear, concise and compelling message. Specializing in:

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Visit my portfolio for work samples, references and more. Satisfied clients include:

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Tagged!

I confess, I'm that girl who fills out emailed questionnaires about my favorite lollipop flavor and husband's most annoying habit, and then sends them out to all my friends in the hopes that they'll send back all their most intimate secrets in return. So it is no surprise that I'd be happy to oblige when my blog was tagged by fellow EtsyGreetings member, Heather (winemakerssister). So here goes.

The idea is to tell 6 things that people may not know about me, then tag 5 other bloggers to do the same.

1. My husband and I lived on a boat for the first two years of our marriage. And no, it wasn't, like, a houseboat. It was a boat boat. We loved it, actually. Although, I will say that the Seattle winters were even more damp (if that's possible) out on the water, and it was a long, sad walk up the dock in the morning drizzle to my car each morning. I also wasn't big on having to share a bathroom with the businesses that occupied the marina office building, but I digress...

2. I studied theatre in college and have acted/modeled professionally, both onstage and in commercials/print advertisements. Most of that was a loooooooooooong time ago, but I'm actually appearing right now in an a TV commercial for my Democratic candidate for US Congress.

3. My husband and I were die-hard minor league hockey fans before my daughter was born, and I was kinda famous for shouting particularly rude things at the opposing team. Apparently I once yelled at an injured player, "When there's blood on the ice, THEN I'll feel sorry for you!" Not my proudest moment. There was beer involved. That's all I'll say about that.

4. I cut my own hair.

5. I once spent a summer doing an internship with a pharmaceutical company, in a manufacturing facility. I was the only girl and the only person working in my facility under the age of 40. Awkward. I had to wear a plastic spacesuit, steel-toed shoes, safety goggles and shower on the way and in out of the plant each day. At one point, I was exposed to "dry product," had a reaction, and had to be moved out of the plant and into the administrative offices for the rest of the summer. Not my favorite summer job. Did I mention the hours were 6 to 6 (days and nights, alternatively) and the pay was $5/hour?

6. I'm a socialist. Just kidding. Kinda.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Me (or maybe you didn't want to know, but so what? it's my blog after all...)

Thanks to Mama's Magic blog for the fantastic Friday feature on Macaroni and Glue. Check it out here and, if you're so inclined, leave her a comment. Also known as bfbeads on Etsy (as in "baby-friendly" beads - very cool), Jen is one of my new fave bloggers. She's witty and insightful, and has lots of great stories related to mommyhood. Definitely give her a look! Thanks again for the great feature, Jen!

Macaroni and Who?

Ok, so I've gone about this all wrong. I set up a little blog on another site - fine, nothing wrong with that - but I've since realized that you a) need to be a member to comment, and b) would never find me there if you googled til your fingers fell off. So, if it's not too much trouble, can we just start over? Just forget about the past and make a clean start of it? Let's pretend we've just met - I'm smiling, you walk up, we shake hands. Good...

So, new friend, let me tell you why I'm here. I'm a mom, I'm an activist (more on that as we get to know each other), and I'm a budding entrepreneur. As of today, I've been papercrafting for a little over a year and have been selling said papercrafts for about six months. At the suggestion of my sister (finder of all things cool online), I set up shop at Etsy about a month ago. I continue to promote and sell my stationery line among friends, family and referrals outside of Etsy, and in the coming months I hope to begin approaching local boutiques about wholesale opportunities. I also really like parentheses... but you knew that already, huh?

I expect that this blog will largely focus on my own creative journey - my design process, the work I churn out, and the process of turning something I love into a sustainable business. I expect that there will be ups and downs along the way, and I intend to share them with you as they happen. For example, I had 10 sales in my first 30 days on Etsy (yay!), but it took Trunkt.com no more than an hour to reject my first portfolio application (ouch). As someone who crafts and sells stuff, I find it interesting to read about others who craft and sell, so I hope to be able to provide some perspective and insight as I try to figure out the best ways to do both.

You'll probably hear a fair amount about my family as well - my 2-year-old has more of an influence on my creative process than any other single factor and my husband, although supportive, has concerns that all this crafting might be compromising the housework....

In addition to me and all things me-related, I intend to use the blog to spotlight some of the amazing talent I find every day over at Etsy. It is so exciting to be part of such a dynamic and creative community! At least weekly, I'll feature someone or something that I've found to be truly special in my daily travels through the Etsy-verse.

And on that note, I have a couple of cool things for show-and-tell today! I have featured her before, but for my inaugural macaroniandglue.com post, I am giving it up once again for one of my all-time favorite designers, rubypearl.

Her women's line is stunning and her designs for kids are ridiculous (in the best sense of the word).

And back in my studio this week, there are antique sketchbooks galore. I've just begun work on a series of notecards with graphics created from drawings of children from 1907. You can see the first two of the series here and here.