Annie and Sydney

I finished my last paper and my last quiz for my summer classes last night. Today, I stored my books, checked that they were listed on Amazon, and moved my files off my desktop. Summer is finally here!

So what am I up to? In the next glorious seven weeks, I plan to:

1. Go to bed on time
2. Craft a lot!
3. Write an eBook for Creative Perch
4. Upload stuff to my new Etsy store
5. Work in my garden
6. Go on vacation with friends (yay!!)
7. Plan for the fall

What’s on your to-do list this summer?

Vintage Royal III typewriter

My vintage typewriter came today! It’s a Royal III, and it’s in fantastic condition. I won it on eBay for $10 (plus shipping, which was still reasonable). Came with the case, manuals, even the original sales tag!

Closeup

And then I found this heavyweight beauty at our local Humane Society thrift shop. I had never been in before, and I was so thrilled to find this for just $5. I have a lot of reading to do, but so far as I can tell, I won’t be able to use this unless I convert it for a different size of pack film.

At first site...

Fully expanded

Aren’t they lovely? I’ve made a “no buying things online” commitment this month, so I’m happy to have discovered a new favorite thrift shop!

I have made a lot of progress on my home office update this week! I have spent every lunch break and several hours in the evening on this project, but it has been so worth it. My space feels like mine now, rather than the “office a.k.a. junk room.”

White shelves with vintage cameras and Polaroids

Not all of our cameras fit on these shelves, especially the Polaroid 225 Automatic. However, this is a good start to displaying our collection.

Shelves: $9.99 each at Target

View from the doorway

Back right corner

Front shot of the updated file cabinets

I love how the file cabinets turned out! I built the cover from Top Choice Whitewood at Lowe’s, and although the wood itself is not perfectly straight, I kind of love the rough-cut feel of them. I had planned to stain them, and I still may; however, I kind of like the unfinished look of them. What do you think?

Wood: $20
Spray paint: $6.50

Back wall

I am so ready to find this old TV stand a new home. It’s just a year and a half old, and being from Target, very solid construction. Unfortunately, it takes up way too much room in this small space. Anyone looking for a nice stand for your flat panel? Email me!

Back corner with new book shelf and idea wall

I built the bookshelf in the corner today, too. It’s sturdy and holds some of my taller books. Looks so much better than the stand-in black crates I had before! The photos in the frame are by none other than my fantastic husband.

Wood: $10

I also purchases the clipboard, file folders, and a candle at Wal-Mart.

Home office supplies: $25

Total cost for this home office makeover project? $91.50! With those savings, maybe next month I’ll add a coat of paint.

Our blueberry bush has produced just one blueberry so far, and until Sunday afternoon, that one berry had remained a pale green. Then, voilà! Somehow between my morning watering and my evening walk in the garden with Chris, it transformed into an amazing blueberry blue.

I finally picked it this afternoon, and it was perfectly sweet and tart. Delicious!

I’ve been working on a mini-makeover project for my home office/studio. I’m 85% finished, and it feels great. Less clutter, more room to work… more air.

Let me preface the photos with this statement: I am usually a very organized person. I don’t let paperwork pile up, I deal with the mail when it comes in every day, and I can’t stand piles of junk. Unfortunately, I’ve been swamped with homework and work and home stuff, and my office has taken the brunt of the neglect.

OK, here are the before photos:

Back right corner - office clutter central!

Back left corner - Home decor clutter and paperwork!

Where I (used to) file my ideas

Ugh, my desk. Piles of paperwork everywhere -

Where, oh where are the bills? Hiding! At least they're already paid

Last but not least… my shopping list for my makeover project:

Shopping List

My makeover project is almost finished. I went to Lowe’s and Walmart and Target and spent about $60 for supplies and wood to build a cover for the filing cabinets. Everything is de-cluttered (except one small section…. Chris!). Tonight I’m building the cover for the cabinets and hopefully a small bookshelf. Tomorrow I’m painting those items white – should be all finished by Thursday! I’ll post more photos tomorrow.

Today is the end of Week 7, beginning of Week 8 of my summer classes, and I have to say, my writing is saving my rear. Since I was sick at some point or another all spring, I have been late and catching up on nearly all of my assignments. As we speak, I am hurrying to finish a case study analysis that is worth 20% of my grade in one of my classes and was due last night at midnight – Eastern Time. At 11:27 pm Central Time, I gave up, closed the laptop, and went to bed. Here I am rushing to finish it. My procrastination has a way of catching up with me.

The thing is, only rarely do I “while away the hours.” I almost never do that. But I do spend time with Chris. And I do work in the garden. And I do love on my dogs and make sure their little puppy love tanks are full.

Oh, and have I mentioned that I work full time? My life is as full as can be.

So. That’s all. I’m almost finished with my case, and I think it’s going to be really, really great. And hopefully my professor will love the writing so much he won’t dock me as many late points as I deserve.

Picture from Polapremium

Polapremium (the company born out of The Impossible Project, whose goal it is to start production on new Polaroid film in 2010) is running a very special promotion on 779 film (works like 600 film). Regular price is now just $14 ($2 less than the Walmart price for 600 film)!

But here’s the even better news. If I can refer people to sign up for their newsletter, I get a discount, and the new signups get a discount!

Anyone love Polaroid? Or need film? Or just really want to help me out?  Email me (dee dot wilcox at mac dot com), and I’ll sign you up!

Today has been a day of meetings. What to do with your hands when you’re on a long techy conference call?

I like tying knots.

My mom taught my brothers and sisters and me the art of macrame when we were kids, but I haven’t created any macrame pieces in something like ten or twelve years. I loved it it then, but I gave it up because of the expense of the hemp twine we used. That, and with the return of hippie-dom in my high school years, macrame jewelry was a flooded market.

Totally coincidentally, a few months ago I picked up a ball of hemp in the dollar section at Target to use on the garden. I also ordered an “oops” Polaroid pendant from Jersey Maids on Etsy last week, and when it came in the mail today, I realized the pendant was the perfect size for a key chain.

Thus the perfect conference call craft project was born.

In the interest of full disclosure… No, I was not being a bad employee, and yes, I paid attention, took notes, and actively engaged in the call. Tying knots is about as mindless (and therefore as relaxing) as knitting or doodling. It subtly opens up creative problem solving pathways while still allowing you to focus on conversation details.

I uploaded these Polaroids from Madison’s 3rd birthday party to my Flickr photostream over the weekend. I loved seeing my family and had so much fun spending time with them!

Last week I read a fantastic piece on ChangeOrder called “Do or Die? Six Secrets for Managing Deadlines” that I’ve been mulling over ever since.

Image Copyright D. Sherwin of Change Order

Let me just be up front. I’m a procrastinator. I think this is the first time I’ve ever admitted it, because I’m a very proactive person (always busy), but I live for the drama of a deadline. Until I read the article on ChangeOrder, I never saw my procrastination for what it was.

I’ll never forget when my boss asked me take the Jung Typology test for the first time. My personality profile resonated with me so much, particularly in my view that deadlines are flexible. Luckily for me, my boss and I have the same personality profile (INTJ), so I’ve never gotten in trouble for missing a deadline (and they have been many). Gotta give myself credit for one thing – I’m a communicator, and rarely miss a deadline without communicating up front that I might miss it.

Lately I miss deadlines with homework nearly every week. This is unusual for me, so I’ll add as a disclaimer that I’m in an 8-week session of which I was sick for about two. Getting caught up has been a bear for which I have no words.

I’ll also say that I’ve had grace with my teachers because I’ve communicated. My writing for these classes is currently saving my rear.

But still, every week.

So here’s what I’ve learned about me:

1. I work best when a deadline depends on it. No Deadline=No Motivation.
2. I procrastinate until the deadline looms, and then I get it done, fast.
3. Sometimes I miss the deadline and give myself “grace.” I tell myself I’m busy, and I work hard. The reality is that I should have never procrastinated.
4. In summary, I work well with a deadline, but my view of them as “flexible” can be self-sabotaging.

Now, I don’t know what to do with this revelation. I’m a good time manager, and I know how to get things done. But this deadline-missing stuff could cause real problems for me later if I don’t deal with it now. I know that I need to learn to not procrastinate, and I need to take control of my own deadline management… just not sure how.

Any fellow deadline drama queens out there? How do you manage?