Callapidder Days

Dear blog,

Hi.

Remember me? Katrina? The one who’s supposed to visit you every now and then, write some stuff, keep you updated?

Yeah, it’s me.

You probably think I’ve abandoned you.

I haven’t, really. At least, not on purpose. I’ve just been…I don’t know, distracted, I guess.

Distracted by never-ending snow that has landed me in a mid-winter funk, longing to hop in the car and drive south until I find sunshine, warmth, and yards where you can actually see the grass.

Distracted by being sick and having sick kids…the usual runaround in our house for this time of year.

Distracted by household stuff — I painted the hallway, I got a sewing machine, and I learned to sew (yes — I actually picked a new activity and worked on it!).

Distracted by a weekend trip.

Distracted by a couple good books that sucked me in and one book that completely irritated me.

Distracted by the local weather-people, who tell me nearly every day that we’ll be getting another 1-3 inches, or 2-4 inches or 4-8 inches. Oh wait, I mentioned the snow already. Sorry about that.

What’s that you say? You think I should have blogged about all those things as I did them? Yeah, you’re probably right. I don’t have a very good reason for why I didn’t, except for that first thing I mentioned — the mid-winter funk caused by day after day after day after day of more snow and more clouds and more gray skies. You see, I was half-afraid that any and every blog post I attempted would turn into some kind of whine-fest, and who wants to read that?

So instead, I just kept my distance for a while, kept my funk to myself.

Why am I back, you ask? Well, I missed you. There are some stories I want to tell, some experiences I want to share…

Oh, and the Spring Reading Thing is coming. You don’t think I forgot about that, did you? Of course I didn’t. I plan to post more details about it next week, and if I get my act together, I’ll even have a button ready for people to put on their blogs.

So, my dear blog, don’t count on daily posts from me or anything crazy like that. But rest assured that I didn’t forget about you and I plan to visit you more often. I’ll even try not to complain about winter. At least, not too much…

Your friend,
Katrina

For months, now, my mind has been restless.

While part of me is pretty sure I have enough on my plate with just the basic, everyday tasks that come with being a wife, a mom, a volunteer… another part of me is curious, searching, looking for something new.

Something new to learn.

Oh, I don’t want to ditch my wife and mom responsibilities. I’m just looking for a new hobby.

It’s crazy, really. I don’t exactly need a new hobby.

I’d probably do well to spend my time trying to improve some simple life-skills. Such as housekeeping. Or frugality. Or organizing. Or parenting.

It would probably also make sense to focus on one of my existing hobbies, to spend time learning more, increasing my skill level, exploring new aspects. After all, I knit, I crochet, I bake, I write, I play Wii (okay, that doesn’t count). But really, I’m far from an expert in any of those areas. There’s plenty of room for growth and improvement.

Yet, I still feel like I want to learn about and explore something new.

Such as? you ask.

Well, here are some things I’ve been reading about, researching. I’m curious about each one, and could easily dive headlong into any one of them.

1. Computer programming. Yeah, I know, people major in this subject in college. It’s not usually a light hobby on the side. But I’d love to learn the nuts and bolts of programming, and learn to do something fun like build a simple iPhone app. I don’t have to be able to construct an operating system; I’d just like to have some basic level of competence.

2. Website development. On a slightly smaller scale, I’ve considered focusing on the type of computer coding specifically related to websites. I think it would be lots of fun to build a WordPress theme from scratch, and to master enough HTML and PHP and CSS to make a website do what I want it to do.

3. Sewing. Ah-ha! I caught you off guard there, didn’t I? You thought this was going to be a completely geeky list. But no. I’m interested in some non-geeky stuff, too. Here’s a confession: I’ve never, ever used a sewing machine. Not for one single stitch. In fact, with a needle and thread, I can barely sew a button on a shirt. It’s pathetic, really. So I’d like to learn — how to use a sewing machine, how to hem a pair of pants, how to sew a curtain, how to make my kids flannel jammies.

4. Drawing. Here’s another confession: I can not draw a circle. I can not draw a straight line. I have no drawing skills whatsoever. The other day. L (3) asked me to draw Bob & Larry (from Veggie Tales). Bob and Larry are pretty simple — they are a tomato and a cucumber, after all. But could I draw them? Well… I tried. And then L. asked me why I made them so scary-looking. Sigh… I know I’ll never be an artist. But if I could learn some very basic techniques, if I could learn to put something on paper that looks like more than scribbles, that’d be cool.

There are more topics I’m interested in. In fact, if you caught a glimpse of my Amazon.com browsing history, you’d wonder if I have adult ADD. Book after book, topic after topic. But really — there’s just so much out there to learn, and sometimes I want to try it all.

But I think I’m going to make myself pick. I’m going to tackle only one — okay, maybe two — at a time. Now I just have to decide where to start.

What about you? If you were going to tackle a new hobby — anything at all, what would you want to explore?

We’ve already played boardgames tonight (my family indulged me and we played five whole games — I loved it!), and did some Wii-playing (Extreme Challenge). We munched on numerous snacks. And now, as I type this post, Chad, C (11), and I have just settled in to watch a movie, figuring it would be a good way to stay awake until midnight and welcome the new year, the new decade.

Speaking of decade… For some reason, today has found me thinking back to ten years ago.

You remember, right? Y2K? When the whole world was going to implode, or disintegrate, or just fall into extreme chaos?

Can that really be ten years ago already?

Ten years ago.

Back when we had just one kid — C. was just a tad over one year old.

Back before I even heard the word “blog” (though I was already seriously attached the Internet for email and message boards).

Back when Chad and I were in our mid-20′s. (Yikes. It’s really been ten years since my mid-20′s? Let’s not think about that fact too much, ‘K?)

I’m not sure why, but I clearly remember what I did on December 31, 1999.

There was a party at my in-laws’ house — people everywhere. My mom babysat C for us so both Chad and I could attend the party for a while, but I came home early to relieve her in case she wanted to be home before midnight.

Then I settled in to watch TV, alternating between the Times Square celebration (for entertainment) and the news (to see if the world really was falling apart as clocks in various time zones clicked over to midnight).

Australia had seemed to weather the millennial transition without a hitch, and Europe was following in its footsteps. It looked like we’d be fine. Banks were not scrambling bank accounts wildly, computers were not banding together to confound the human race. Y2K was arriving without so much as a hiccup. (Well, perhaps the people who were partying like it was 1999 were getting some hiccups, but you know what I mean.)

This year, we’re not waiting for a new millennium, but we’re still entering a new decade. The Aughts or the ’00s or whatever you’d like to call them have come to a close. We are not threatened with an impending computerized date-related disaster, but we still face the unknown in 2010. I’m sure there will be obstacles, sorrow, times of confusion, but I also know there will be joy, and many moments to treasure.

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I’m going to wrap up this post now, because I’ve made about ten attempts to write more, but it’s all coming out rambling, random, and unfocused. I guess that’s what I get for attempting to write a blog post while watching a movie with my family.

Instead, I’ll just say:

I hope you have a very Happy New Year!

And while you’re here, I’m curious.

What were you doing ten years ago, on December 31, 1999?