Friday Five for Memorial Day Weekend

Five goals. Five tasks. Five things I hope to do over this long weekend up ahead.

I’m stoked. My day ended at just after lunch because despite the early close (2pm), the boss bid me to log off at noon as she was fine to go. I was grateful for that, even if I knew I would probably not really log off then. Just the thought was enough to help me start the weekend.

So I went to the post office and shipped out a sale, then did my usual stop at the community bake shop to get some treats, but more to help them out with a sale and a bit of extra tip. It’s a small operation but it’s been around for a long time, and the type that makes all the good stuff.

And suddenly the disposable masks are available aplenty! While I have been busy making my masks, I thought I’d buy just a box or two for the possibility of a second wave when sanitizers, masks, alcohol and toilet paper disappear from the shelves. Just enough to be ready– not hoarding. I could’ve bought from the chain pharmacy, but I figured again, I’d like to help the mom and pop stores around. So many businesses are hurting, and every little bit helps.

Here goes my Friday Five–

(1) Produce and post at least one item in the shop. Perhaps it’s because of the stress of working from home and the masks, but I haven’t really been paying attention to the shop. Lo and behold, I didn’t realize I was getting a lot of traffic and actually made some sales in the last week or so. I want to be able to take advantage of that spurt of activity and the best way is to keep posting. I’m being modest so I will aim for only one, but who knows?

(2) Work on my art journal. I actually started working on one spread already but want to get going with my journaling again. It’s a very therapeutic form of self expression for me and I have several ideas brewing in my head.

(3) I’m going to get busy in the kitchen. I plan to bake and cook and I’m particularly excited attempting a rather complicated Filipino / Spanish dish after I picked up one of the essential ingredients from the grocery earlier this afternoon. And there’s my oatmeal raisin cookie craving that needs attending to!

(4) Take the first step in replicating a favorite house dress. First thing’s first– have to create the pattern! I already made some measurements and just need to translate it into paper. I’m not going to attempt the actual sewing just yet. The pattern is one big project as it is.

(5) Start writing those letters I’ve been meaning to write. Talking about snail mail here. Earlier while I was looking for the padded envelopes I ship my jewelry in, I came across more stationery I had made a while back that I have yet to use. One letter at least.

There you go. I’m suddenly intimidated reading through that list, but I think I’ve got my work cut out for me. Like I said, I’m all excited by the weekend, even as I end Friday ready to start relaxing.

Here’s to a restful weekend for everyone.

Friday Five

This one used to be a staple but it seems like I haven’t done one since the start of the year. The idea is to write 5 things I’m hoping to do, not just for the weekend, but for the week ahead as well.

1. Write at least one letter. The stationery is out already and I even have a list of people to write, and I hate that I haven’t written a single one. This one’s part of my 19 for 2019 list as well, and I’m not giving up on getting those letters out.

2. Create pieces for the shop. I want to say “a piece” but I know that when I pick up my tools, I’ll be creating a few. Traffic has been good but no sale — and while the thought is depressing, I know I need to exert more effort to get things moving.

3. Learn how to make the tassels for my triangle scarves. I would hate to use them without the tassel and I just need to sit down and make the three I need for even just one of the few I already have.

4. Destash my shoe rack. Self explanatory but so lazy to attend to it! There is a sense of urgency to this because I need to find a favorite pair of Platform heels which I know is somewhere out there.

5. Spend an hour writing in my art journal. It’s sad to think I’ve been lugging a piece of it around but have not gotten down to writing anything. I am determined to get this started and going to the coming year.

Friday Five: Between last week and today

Five goals. Five tasks. Five things to keep in mind this weekend. More for me than for anyone else. First, let’s see how I did with last week’s list.

1. Put away my christmas decor. Mostly boxed and ready to store in the attic again. I did the clean up by myself so I think it was a feat to have done the clean up already.

2. Take a stab at beginning a pencil skirt. I didn’t quite get anywhere with this but I am optimistic about this coming long weekend.

3. Create 5 pieces for the shop and post at least 2. I got distracted with my attempts to do bead crochet, but I am definitely doing this within the next 48 hours.

4. Cook some ox tail stew. (I am thinking Kare, but I’m not sure I have enough peanut butter.). I did it with cream of mushroom and it was quite a success. Happy to have done this!

5. I will be art journaling. On it!

Another Friday, another list. It’s a long weekend for us so I’m all stoked to have a restful yet productive weekend. For starters, I’m having my favorite French Onion soup at Madison Kayser. Oh, the list!

1. Start working on my pencil skirt. Pattern ready. Fabric — wait, have to choose from what I have in my stash. I’m thinking of doing a stretch top using some leftover Jersey I used for a skirt. Hmmmmm..

2. Write some letters. Actually it’s about FINISHING several letters I have stashed away in sheets I need to cut. But I have them — just need to end it!

3. Deal with this pile of magazines I mean to get rid of. I hate throwing away magazines and I wanted to browse them before throwing them away. I promise to get ride of at least a dozen, if not double that number!

4. Prepare the preloved books I will give away this coming week. I do have a more systematic destashing in my list of 19 for 2019. I really have to do this with more determination for it to become a regular thing.

5. Read. I crave to do more of this.

Hope you all stay warm this cold weekend!

The return of the Friday Five

Five goals. Five tasks. Five things to keep in mind this weekend. More for me than for anyone else.

It’s a really cold, cold Friday in New York with freezing temperatures greeting us this morning. I think I’m going to stay close to home and keep myself busy. Here goes..

1. Put away my christmas decor. I’ve started getting the boxes ready for my christmas balls, and I organize my christmas lights a certain way. Although i’m going to go at this solo, I don’t think it will be that hard a task.

2. Take a stab at beginning a pencil skirt. I’ve had the pattern for quite a while now, but I’m trying to determine which size to make. I hope to at least get to that this weekend.

3. Create 5 pieces for the shop and post at least 2. I have some necklaces to post but the photos are really giving me second thoughts about posting or not. I have the materials and just need to sit with my tools and my beads.

4. Cook some ox tail stew. (I am thinking Kare, but I’m not sure I have enough peanut butter.) I am being brave. I have put the meat in the fridge to defrost, and tomorrow, I will try and get it started. Or maybe Sunday.

5. I will be art journaling. So excited!

I’m trying to keep warm and beat the clock before it hits midnight. Here’s to a quiet and cozy weekend for everyone.

Friday Five: Yay!

So, okay, this is much delayed.

Life happens.  I’m not apologizing, and it’s another weekend so I’m feeling all chipper.

I tried to write but I seriously did NOT have the time because my real world had me in chains all week, slaving away.  But it’s Friday!

As always, we start with the updates based on the last list that appeared here two Fridays ago:

1.  Sort the fabrics I picked up from Brooklyn over the weekend.   Done!  I’ve even managed to wash a few sets just to make sure that they are good to go once crafted!

2.  Write five topics to write about here and in my craft blog.  I actually managed to complete this for both blogs, but while the idea was that the “drafts” would help me move forward with the blogging, I haven’t been able to hit the pace I was working on.  Still, it got me posting, and there’s a new post for each site.

3.  Gather the books that I hope to read in the coming days and actually write about it.   I have the books, just haven’t had the chance to list them down.

4. Pull together at least one “care package” from the things I hope to destash and send out.  So I’ve been “cleaning up” but have pleasantly rediscovered things I had made and bought over the past two years which I had misplaced.  So yes, I got the one care package started, but haven’t sent out.

5.  List 10 things in the “turning 50 good deeds” to do.  I didn’t quite hit the 10 but managed to write 6, and wrote about it here.  In addition, I have created a page with the post title, Gift of 50,  (see navigation bar on top please) to keep the updates on one page.

I think that wasn’t so bad — even if it took all of two weeks to actually make progress.  Again, I’m not killing myself over this.  So for this weekend, here’s my Friday Five:

1.  Gather the books that I hope to read in the coming days and write a blog post on it.   I might even start drafting this this afternoon.

2. Care package work-in-progress send out.  One of the sets I have to hang on to, but I think I can actually pack the second and send off before next Friday.

3.  Plan the big five-o celebration.  I’m very big on celebrating birthdays and “big” doesn’t actually mean a huge party — I just want a table of friends to toast the big day.  And it’s right around the corner!

4.  Find the loose postcards I want to work on and actually set aside time to get this project started.  We’ll start with identifying a box they can all go into and then I will write about what I hope to do with them.

5.  Draft a craft project calendar.  I’m trying t plan for the year and get things on track — scheduling christmas cards ahead of the holiday season so that they actually get sent, for one, this time around.

It’s been a very busy week work wise and I cannot be more grateful that it is finally Friday.  It’s been one of those weeks where I was too tired at the end of the day to focus on anything else but catch some much needed zzzzzzs.  But the week is over and there’s finally time to recharge and relax.  Tomorrow.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Friday Five: Long Weekend Ahead

I am excited for the long weekend coming up because it’s one of the last few long weekends we’re having for a bit.  Well, that is, unless I choose to take some time off.  So I thought I’d start it by setting my sights on what I hope to accomplish in the next three days when it’s supposed to be brutally cold in my part of the world.  Right now we’re battling temperatures which are definitely below freezing, so I have made up my mind to stay indoors unless it’s absolutely necessary to go out.

First, the update.  Last week I set to do the list below and here’s how I did:

1.  Sort my ribbons.  This one actually went somewhere and is a work in progress, given my fabric freebie stash which I picked up Sunday.  (More on that later.)
2. Sort my shoes.  Decisions have been made and the ones heading to shoe heaven will be discarded.
3. Label and organize the Christmas decor in the attic.  Packed and labeled and stored.
4. Gather my loose postcards.  Hoping to do more of this during this particular weekend.
5. Mail some postcards home.  Postcards written on and addressed — just looking for my forever international stamps.  (Almost there.)

So how’s my weekend looking?  I’m excited to create and organize my supplies.  My fabric stash has mostly been sitting in the same bags they were brought in, except for the slivers of hand-dyed silk that I have washed and been drying/ironing to work with.

The postcard project brewing in my head will need those postcards to be gathered, and I have already set aside a container.  I’m looking forward to curling up with one of the books waiting for me to open this weekend — besides those that have been sitting stewing in my virtual library on Kindle.

So here’s this long weekend’s list… and for those straying into my space for the first time and coming upon a version of this regular post, the point is to create a simple, doable and easily achieved checklist of things to do or start during the weekend, with a progress report due the following Friday.  What for? The intention is to give you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the weekend, helping you to start the week off right.  It’s also supposed to help you keep track of where the weekend went beyond the regular errands you have to run.

1.  Sort the fabrics I picked up from Brooklyn over the weekend.  I did it once before and came upon a listing for “free fabrics” from Craig’s list where they give away everything and anything — as long as you want them and pick them up where specified.

That sojourn and what I got from the trip is another blog post altogether, but I need to sort through the stuff I got and start planning on what to do with them.  I had also promised my benefactor that I would share and give away whatever I didn’t make use of, and I don’t want to sit on it too long before I forget.  So I will be spending a fair amount of time going through most, if not all of the stash.

2.  Write five topics to write about here and in my craft blog.  I’ve been pretty happy with how my blogging has been in this corner of the web, but I’ve really been working on getting the other blog, which is my “craft” blog running again.  I think writing five topics down and actually starting a draft post for me to go back to later will help build up my writing ideas and keep the posts coming.

While I write very spontaneously here, I have things I want to do in the other blog which are more entrepreneurial.  But just like any business, it takes focus and a plan and I have a rough idea brewing in my head but I need to concretize them and make it happen.  That’s why I’m hoping to start with opening that space up again and being more active there.

At the same time, I don’t want to fall into a rut again here, and with the half dozen things I’m behind on in terms of topics I want to write about, starting a post should help goad me to tap the keys and actually get those posts done.

3.  Gather the books that I hope to read in the coming days and actually write about it.  I have always loved to read and have been lamenting the fact that I haven’t been doing enough of it the last couple of years.  There is a different enjoyment that I get from thumbing through pages and actually seeing the story unfold in my head.  I have the books — I just need to actually sit down and open them.  (Note to self:  Write about the books!)

4. Pull together at least one “care package” from the things I hope to destash and send out.  Through the years, I have accumulated a lot of things that I had acquired either as gifts or purchases — and some of these things have outlived their usefulness or no longer mean the same thing to me.  Others I had plainly forgotten about or no longer want.  I have always believed that one man’s trash is another’s treasure.

At the start of the year, I had written my “16 for 2016 post” which I have condensed into a list as a page of this blog.  (See navigation bar.)  #14 of the list reads:

Destash: Give 5 items away from my current stash (clothes, books, art supplies, postcards) every month beginning March.  

I have to get started on this, and I have several ideas in my head.  It doesn’t have to be your typical bag of hand me downs.  I have a lot of other things which I am sure others will find useful.  I can actually give them away to someone I know, or leave it out in the open for someone who might fancy it to pick up.  This weekend, I want to pull one such package and make a decision as to how I am going to get rid of it.

5.  List 10 things in the “turning 50 good deeds” to do.  BFF Fe just reminded me that I’m turning 50 in a few weeks.  (Yes, I’m hitting the big five-oh.)  Again, in the same list mentioned above, #16 was “Celebrate my birthday by doing 50 feel-good deeds.”  I have to start somewhere.  No rules really — big, small, something ordinary to something I would need to mount a major production to accomplish.  One year to do it, before my 50th year is done.

My Friday is turning out to be quite the weekend start with things going haywire in my real world.  (Read: my day job).  Ever have one of those days when you just want to crawl under the table and hide?  This is one of them.  The good news is it’s almost ending, and I can maybe sit down with a bottle and drink the nerves away, and actually start my weekend on a relaxing note.

Happy Friday, everyone..  bundle up!

Friday Five: Moving along

This is a much-delayed second post following my 2016 kick off.  I refuse to brand it an epic fail because the year is young, and I try not to be too hard on myself.  As posted in the first iteration of this blog list, the point is to create a simple, doable and easily achieved checklist of things to do or start during the weekend, with a progress report due the following Friday.  What for? The intention is to give you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the weekend, helping you to start the week off right.  It’s also supposed to help you keep track of where the weekend went beyond the regular errands you have to run.

The rules:  (1) Keep it simple.  (Go through pantry and discard expired food.  Pick up prescription.  Mail that birthday card.  Start this project.  Throw that away.)  (2)  It must be doable.  (You have the weekend only and the following week as an extension, so no tasks that will require a huge investment time-wise.)  (3)  Should involve only or mostly you.  (Involving another person would mean depending on that person for the fulfillment of the task.  This is about YOU.)

My first list and it’s progress report:

1.  Write Do.  (BFF Donna who is in Australia.)  This is a work in progress given how long I write.  Yes, I still do snail mail.
2. Create the matching piece for B.  (Gave her a pair of freshwater pearl bracelets.)  Just trying to find the right clasp.
3. Read.  (Book no. 1 was book no.2 of last year’s list.)  Does taking the book out count?  Ha!
4. Sort clothes to keep or to give away.  I’ve actually done well with this as I continue to try and sort my room out the way I want it.  I used to take pride in being able to wear clothes year in and year out but now find that I have to be more conscious of something going out of fashion and resisting the urge to keep something because it cost an arm and a leg.
5. Go through make up stash and discard old supplies.  I love make up so it’s a little difficult to part with it, but part with it, I did.  There are just lipsticks that discolor and whose consistency changes through the year, and there are broken make up palettes that will do you no good with all the powder it spreads around.

Okay, that wasn’t quite as painful as I thought it would be.  So here’s this week’s Friday Five, and hopefully (fingers crossed), I will get things off the list faster and provide you an update next week.

First of all, I’m taking reading off the list.  That shouldn’t be a weekend thing — it should be an everyday thing.  (A blogpost forming in my head.)

Secondly,  I am going to try and focus on very specific items this weekend.  (Well, hoping..)

1.  Sort my ribbons.  (Working on some incredibly gorgeous recycled sari ribbons to use for my necklaces.  Can’t wait!)
2. Sort my shoes.  Some of them need to hit the dumpster soon.
3. Label and organize the Christmas decor in the attic.  Just so I’m not overwhelmed next year.
4. Gather my loose postcards.  Project brewing in my head.
5. Mail some postcards home.

Glorious sunshine after such a wet and snowy morning.  Mother Nature surprises us yet again.  Give me some sunshine please.  Happy Friday, everyone!

Friday Five: 2016 Kick off

I’m too lazy to go back and find my first ever Friday Five post, but it’s a category in the drop down menu so be my guest.

This is one Friday I’ve been waiting for, and it’s not only because it comes as a long weekend (Hooray for Martin Luther King, Jr.!), but more importantly, because the week prefacing the weekend has been quite a tough one.  But it’s done, the tests have been taken (Math on Monday and Tuesday, midterm in Science on Thursday,) and a science project that got me and two 11-year-olds befuddled was completed.  Rube Goldberg machine, anyone?

The point of the list is to create a simple, doable and easily achieved checklist of things to do or start during the weekend, with a progress report due the following Friday.  Besides the obvious, the intention is to give you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the weekend, helping you to start the week off right.  It’s also supposed to help you keep track of where the weekend went beyond the regular errands you have to run.

The rules:  (1) Keep it simple.  (Go through pantry and discard expired food.  Pick up prescription.  Mail that birthday card.  Start this project.  Throw that away.)  (2)  It must be doable.  (You have the weekend only and the following week as an extension, so no tasks that will require a huge investment time-wise.)  (3)  Should involve only or mostly you.  (Involving another person would mean depending on that person for the fulfillment of the task.  This is about YOU.)

So for the first Friday Five of 2016, here is my task list for the long weekend ahead:

1.  Write Do.  (BFF Donna who is in Australia.)
2. Create the matching piece for B.  (Gave her a pair of freshwater pearl bracelets.
3. Read.  (Book no. 1 was book no.2 of last year’s list.)
4. Sort clothes to keep or to give away.
5. Go through make up stash and discard old supplies.

Notice there are no regular chores listed.  (No do the laundry, fold the clothes, or clean the bathroom.)  Think of tasks you need to be reminded of and need to focus on because you keep forgetting.  If you have a reminder system in your calendar on your smart phone, it might help to remind yourself Saturday evening if not early Sunday.  (Heading to Outlook to put that in right now!)

Let’s see how this list goes this looooooong, glorious weekend — even if it’s cold as a freezer in these parts.  I shouldn’t really be complaining, it’s getting milder.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Friday Five: Rerun

Last week, I said I would:

1.  Find a suitable box to store my gown in.  Still trying to find one.

2. Redo the rose quartz pieces I unstrung.  Started cleaning the rose quartz of the oxidation.  (Yay!  Some progress here..)

3.  Do my own version of the Proust questionnaire. (Blog post in progress.)  Still trying.

4.  Sort the art supplies I got from National Bookstore.  (Chinese paintbrushes and speedball tips!) Found half of them and looking for the rest.

5.  Reboot “The Thank You Postcard Project”. Next?

As you can see, I didn’t quite get anywhere which is sad.  But hey, the week saw me playing Florence Nightingale for the first part, and then everything just got thrown out of whack (schedule-wise) with backlog at work and all.  So I will not complicate things by creating a new list and will instead stick to this one.  Again, trying to keep it simple.  That is the whole point, after all, of doing the list.  It is supposed to help me focus on 5 tasks that will help me feel that the weekend and the succeeding week turns out to be productive.

I have gotten some new comments on my most read posts which deserve a Feedback on Feedback blogpost, but I want to  be able to sit down on this and write — as in really write — a thoughtful blogpost.  Thank you to those who have written, and again, if email is easier, please e-mail me at pinaynewyorker @ gmail.com .  (I still get e-mails at pinay_newyorker @ yahoo.com but I hardly check that account.)

It’s a gorgeous Friday in Manhattan and I am so tempted to stay later and run around, but I have things I need to take care of before the evening comes upon us on this side of the world. It’s been a very hectic week for me and I am looking to recharge (hopefully) this weekend.  Maybe tick off a thing or two from the list above.  Wish me luck.  If I had my way, I’d be in the park with everyone else, chilling in the shade and just enjoying the afternoon breeze.  But work awaits and I just can’t — not today.  It’s one of those days that leave me pining for a 3 day weekend which I know would never be enough.

Enjoy it, wherever you may be.  Have fun and try to do the things that make you happy.  Just be.

Happy Friday, everyon!

 

Friday Five: Some progress

I am not too happy that the post preceding this is last week’s Friday 5 post, but I didn’t quite succeed in writing something in between.  Perhaps this coming week will be more prolific given all that is happening.  The good news is, I have made progress with my reboot  (Yay!)

I’m trying to keep focused on 5 doable tasks during the coming week as a way of trying to be more productive.

So how did I do against last week’s list?

1.  Sort my new supplies from Manila.  Beads, crafting supplies, etc. – Happy to report I succeeded here, and even managed to create a few pieces which I have chosen to break up and redo, but I did accomplish this task.

2.  Sort the ribbons from the M&J trim sale. – Boxed and sorted!

3.  Write one letter longhand. – Written, sealed and stamped and on its way to Australia.

4.  Pull all my new magazines together. – Done!

5.  Find a suitable box to store my gown in. – I had hoped to make a trip to oone of my favorite craft stores to get one of those pretty storage boxes, but I ran out of time the previous weekend.  There is this weekend to do that.  So four out of 5?  Quite a bit of progress like I said.

Here’s this week’s Friday five:

1.  Find a suitable box to store my gown in.

2. Redo the rose quartz pieces I unstrung.

3.  Do my own version of the Proust questionnaire. (Blog post in progress.)

4.  Sort the art supplies I got from National Bookstore.  (Chinese paintbrushes and speedball tips!)

5.  Reboot “The Thank You Postcard Project”.

It’s another weekend but with several milestones and holidays.  Today is my little tyke’s 11th birthday which made Mother’s Day a special one for me since.  It’s his last cupcake party (Fifth grade, finally!) and I am excited to celebrate another birthday…

So if only for all that’s happening this weekend alone, I hope to be here writing away just a bit more. Have a fab Friday, everyone!