Baby Steps

Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, 
anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.  

~ Carl Bard

There have been a lot of changes this year and I feel like I am trying to establish an equilibrium again and get my life back on a good track.  One baby step that makes me very happy - I squeezed in some sewing last weekend!

Well, okay, not sewing - but cutting out...  

Yay!  I cut out all of the pieces from the fabric I got in Wales to make a raincoat for a son of a friend from work.  :)

The only bummer is that I had hoped to have enough fabric to make 2 small raincoats (I bought ALL of the fabric that was left) - but it turned out that I didn't.  :(

So, this is going to be my first lined jacket - any advice?  

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Another thing that I am trying to maintain is a connection with the children who were special in Ana's life here in the U.S.  (Ana returned to her family in Mexico last June.)  Obviously, we are still having our monthly pool parties!  That's an easy one!  :)

This summer, I also set it up so that some of the children could go to a local museum's art camp for a couple of weeks. I was so happy when one of Mariana's pieces (a 3D police car) was selected to be in the museum's exhibit.  We went last Saturday for the ceremony, where she got a certificate and I got this picture:  

Brandon and Carolyn have different dreams.  Carolyn wants to be a singer and Brandon wants to design video games.  

It was relatively easy to find a professional voice instructor who teaches children and Carolyn had her "try out" last Saturday (making sure she didn't have a tin ear, I guess?).  Everything went fine and she starts with her first real lesson next Saturday.  :)

Brandon, however, was a bit more difficult.  While I did discover a relevant summer camp for next year, I couldn't seem to come up with an "official" option for now.  

So, guess who is going to learn how to write video games?  ;)

Yup, you guessed it.  I found some software (GameMaker) and a book (The Game Maker's Apprentice) and Brandon and I will be game designing our way through it...  

Last week it was bouncing fruit - next week it will be saving baby dragons and shooting fireballs at flying demons inside a cave.  ;)

And now you know why I changed the name of my blog to: "In Over My Head"  :)