Snow Day #2....

....hey! I'll take what I can get!

I've been gearing up for the Fluff Factory Auctions, and it has kept me busy, because while I am only contributing a few items I still have current orders to fulfill. And I had work this weekend. So, this mama is tired at the moment.

Hence the absolute relief that Greggy didn't have school today. Again. I'm not complaining! I took the opportunity to stay in my PJs and caught up on some chores and some knitting.
I ended up working the legs both at the same time, using each end of the ball of yarn. I was so paranoid that I would not have enough of this yarn for capris! But, I think it's going to work...it is definitely longer than shorts; I can probably venture to say that it has reached "Bermuda" length! teehee. I'm giddy about it. I am finishing up the cuffs and hoping that this itty-bitty pink I have left will be enough for cuffs for both legs.

We did put on our wet weather gear and stomped around outside. There was even less snow than my last entry, but I decided to shovel the less than one inch on the ground just for kicks. I thought that my imagination would be good enough to make up snow for me to shovel. Not! I was so desperate I even started shoveling our front parking area.

I was so pleased to find this goodness in our mailbox today! It is PureWool Merino Yarn. I went in on a co-op and got 2 skeins of worsted and 1 skein of laceweight. It is my first try at this yarn and I am looking forward to knitting it up. The colors are magnificent. The pink is just oozing love.
Pink is definitely my favorite color. When I was a little girl, I even asked people to call me Pinky because I loved it so much. I declared it my nickname in the 5th grade; much to my dismay (at the time) loved ones still called me Niny. I wanted to break free after all, declare my own identity and persona, and at the time I wanted to associate myself with color.

Niny (pronounced "nee-nee") is a derivative of Tiffany. Get it: tiffa-neeenee? I have been called Niny from the moment I was born. But my Filipino aunts and uncles would skew it a little, calling me Neneng, or Ning or Ning Ning or Neng - oy! The pain in my ears! I couldn't handle it any more! I was in the fifth grade and totally wishing that my Tiffany Dara, Tiffany, Niny, Neng and what have you was an Ann, or Jennifer or Mary.

But my Parents insisted on being proud of my name...my Mother watched me carefully when I would write my name on my assignments. "Write you whole name" she would say. "Your name is special".

I would roll my eyes (you know you did it too!) when my Mother wasn't looking and sighed in my head and wrote my name slowly, all gajillion letters of the four names that comprised my lineage.

Gratefully I was raised in such diverse communities in San Francisco, and both My Name and I fit right in. There was never a question as to who Tiffany Dara was. And somehow I became alright with that.

Years later when it was time to pick out personalized license plates for my first car (yes my parents were cool like dat!), I picked "Niny". This car, by the way, followed me all through college and now resides in my parents garage, still with the same license plates. Chez Niny also became our brand name. And I still absolutely do not respond to my brothers if they do not call me Ate ("big sister") Niny. And I now love my name, all four of my then maiden and all four of my now married name.

So, you can call me Tif, Tiffany Dara, Dara, Niny, Neng, Ning-Ning, Ning, Ne-Ne, or Pinky...I have learned that this is all me.

Yup. This is the Gist of it.

Last week, I visited Joyce's blog and just ooh'd and ahh'd over her studio. There are so many studios out there in blog land I have seen...I love that crafters love to share their space and center of their creativity and work.

I really gravitated to Joyce's studio because it both inspiration-filled and practical...it was a definite beautiful workspace. Though I have known here only through years in message boards and online presence, I can see Joyce working in there.

I commented and she replied that I should share my space, and ummm....no. lol .



I have been a crafter for a while but have only had a space to myself these last 1 1/2 years when we moved to this house. In the past I have worked on the kitchen table and didn't think of decorating it to my crafty liking per se. So, this space that I have now, only reflects the business that I do, filled with fabric, machines and lots of mess.


Life is slowly showing and teaching me however, that business is not just business. It is about nurturing that side of me that doesn't have the bottom line as its agenda. 2007 for me is all about finding that part of me again. I think that we all get caught up doing this thing or other, especially when there is success, and well, I am ready for a little change.


So, after posting these pictures I am making a plan to make this space really my own. Not just a practical space, but a space that can whisper my name to those that walk in. A space that I associate with my love of craft, not just the art of making business.

I do believe I just gave myself a challenge.

Sneaking off with Mom...

Despite the dipping temperatures (although it is no where near what I would like...I am a cold weather lover myself), I have been taking the kids to our local ice cream shop for a little sweet goodness. Just this last week we headed there at least 3 times, and I am not at all ashamed to say that it was at my request :)

The boys take their wondrous time looking at all of the tubs of creamy goodness, through the glass licking their lips. They get to pick whatever they want. Rafaella is patient, she knows she will share my cup.

Once they have picked and I have ordered we sit and enjoy our treats and we just talk. Sometimes the boys talk all at once, almost screaming, trying to say everything in their mind. Rafaella even starts in with her babytalk, and their voices echo through the parlor. I can't help but laugh the entire time.

It reminds me of those moments when my Mother used to take my brothers and I out for the afternoon. And what stays with me most were those occasions when she and I, alone, would sneak away to get something to eat and to chat. We'd tell my dad and brothers that we had an errand to run, and we'd find ourselves having lunch at a restaurant and not accomplishing much of anything but keeping our bellies full and our minds occupied with exchanged stories.

These days, when she comes here to visit from California, Greg just expects for us to make up an excuse to get out of the house, but he knows that we are at a local joint, stuffing our faces and cackling and gossiping.

How important those moments were...now looking back I know now that this was a way she kept connected with me. I remember at times I would just wonder *why* we had to do things together...what teen hasn't...

Now as a Mother, I can see that it has made all of the difference in the world.

Since I am admitting my list addiction,

I might as well mention that I have a "thing" with coffee.

I have a soup Polish Pottery mug, which holds my usual 2 servings of java, sitting here next to the keyboard, steaming hot from it.

I nurse one while I cook dinner, and continue to reheat it until I finally consume it all, around 8 at night.

Ironically, despite the amount of coffee I consume, I am not much of a connoisseur. I couldn't tell you what the difference is between the different roasts. All I know is that I love my coffee hot, almost pale from milk and with 2 teaspoons of sugar.

Oh and frothy.

This is where my Senseo comes in. A perfect, frothy drink every time. For this un-gadgeted family, a stunning and wonderful realization and purchase.

Thanks Mom for turning us to the dark side.

Off to enjoy the rest of these few minutes to myself.

My name is Tif, and I am a listmaker

I make lists for each project I undertake.

On my google desktop, I have 3 lists: 1- Business 2- Family 3-Personal Craft Projects.

When I have a special event to plan, a list must be completed.

My husband is sent to the grocery store with a list. A list written from a list of meals for the coming week or 2.

I keep a notebook in my purse for the moment I feel I need to brainstorm a list.

And here I am blogging out a list.

It's a sickness really.

In the past, when I was younger, in College, my lists would be completed. To the "t". On my nursing shifts I compiled lists of repetetive tasks to be completed and they would be.

My lists these days, are feeling less love. They sit on the computer screen and wait for me to click them off. They call for me from my list notebook and sometimes at the end of the night all I can do is stare at them, and then to re-write them the next day.

These days, I list down "read 30 min", "write 30", "knit rafaella's pants 30 min" "cut fabric 30 min" "sew until one project completed ", just so I have somethings crossed out.

I guess this is what happens when life no longer revolves solely around oneself or with just a partner. My days no longer just involve me moving to my own agenda. And I guess this is what happens when I start to let go of trying to manage every minute, when I finally can breathe and just "go with the flow".

Is there such a thing for a true Virgo such as myself? I guess we will all just have to see.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

This year begins my first of being the family taxi-driver. The One Who Bringeth the Children Everywhere. I think I get in the car to drive a minimum of four times a day, from having Greggy and Cooper in different schools...with opposite class schedules! Dear goodness, I have a long year ahead of me.

But just when I am about to hang my keys and curse this entire phase of our lives - and to think this is only the beginning! - something sweet and fulfilling comes about, and I am renewed.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally met dear Julia...a mama friend I only knew through Xanga...and with her budding, wonderful new Photography Business, we found a reason to get together. And she blessed us with her magic, sprinkled some pixie dust using her gracious eye and her fabulous camera...and an afternoon spent at a local farm turned into a lifetime of memories.

She sent me all of my proofs today, and what I saw was exactly what I needed to witness: a family growing, together.

These kids are mine. Good. Beautiful. Children. They came from God, and I carried, labored and bore them. And now they are their own personalities, they are all unique. But in their eyes, I see me, and I see Greg.

What an absolute honor.

Tap...Tap...is there anyone out there?

Hello Blogger :)

I'm still settling in, adding in some links and buttons. Sampling the interface, dusting a few corners, and finding room for my luggage.

I just didn't want another day to go by without me leaving just a footprint.

Much love,
A former xanga-girl