The short answer: now that I’ve come up with the idea, my brain won’t stop composing entries until I do.
The long answer: my initial impetus to starting this was as a forum to share craft projects and ideas with other ETSY community members. Many Etsyans have fun and beautiful blogs that I enjoy reading and that, I also think, make their homemade products more desirable because of the ‘behind the scenes’ window into the crafters’/sellers’ lives. But a devoted craft blog just didn’t seem right for me, partly because I couldn’t reason adding another craft-focused project to my schedule. I also thought about my online ‘persona’: did I want to be known as a crafter only, diluting my sciency Google hits? I started looking at blogs written by my ecological colleagues and found that they include entries such as political commentary on science-informed issues, statistical advice, references to quirky studies, and scientific equipment tutorials. When I searched for ‘science craft blog’, I got…nothing. I didn’t even try adding ‘how to balance work and family’ to the search. Voila – a niche!
Me, my blog, and I
I am: a mom, graduate student, crafter, lover of the outdoors, native Oregonian, California resident, living in Massachusetts. In my head, I am constantly dreaming up new craft projects, family trips, and research projects. I am also frequently contemplating how to meld the disparate facets of my life – namely, family (always my number 1 priority), science (or ‘work’, although it fortunately rarely feels like it), and hobbies (especially outdoor pursuits and crafting, which sometimes shifts to feeling more like ‘work’). Is it possible to concurrently be an effective and productive scientist with a satisfying family life and while devoting time and energy to creative and physical pursuits? I look forward to exploring these goals and questions, sharing ideas I’m dreaming up, and providing a little window into *my* multi-faceted life. Maybe I’ll spark some academic, creative, or domestic energy in *your’s* !
Family (last Christmas Eve 2006, on the California coast)
Science (sea squirts and bryozoans are squishy but beautiful!)
Crafts (my biggest project yet - my one and only full size 'Snail's trail' quilt)
I've enjoyed reading other bloggers' New Year's resolutions, which has prompted me to share my own. In 2008, I resolve to:
1. sleep 7 hrs/night (up from my typical 5 ½ to 6)
2. strengthen my back/improve my posture (more weights and yoga?)
3. do a pull up (this may be my most challenging resolution, but if I can go from failing the ‘sit and reach’ in elementary school to one of the more flexible members of tae kwon do in college, then I trust it can be done!)
4. read a paper a day (I’m determined to read all 365, so I already have about 15 days of catching up to do)
5. submit 2 papers (I’ve set a self-imposed deadline of February for the review I’m working on – my first thesis chapter! Not sure what the other will be, but hopefully I’ll find it when I…)
6. analyze and review all existing thesis data (yes, I mean all)
7. give a guest class lecture (maybe in the marine invertebrates class next fall - ?)
8. take Caden backpacking (we took him camping twice his first summer, but not at all last summer – we were so busy with moving!)
9. go camping in the northeast (since we’re new here, we’ll have to find out what time of year is the best combination of warm temperatures and low bug densities)
10. update Caden’s baby book
11. make a pdf pattern for my lunch bags (high up-front time commitment, but would be nice to have and hopefully pay off eventually)
12. make a play mat (I’ve been planning this since I opened my Etsy shop and have yet do actually do it!)
13. make Caden’s Christmas stocking (Puffy paint on flannel just doesn’t have the same cozy feel – but this resolution will be tough, too, because I’ll have to find/design a pattern that I think he’ll like through adulthood – phew, tough task!)
14. make improvements on the house (we have a punch list maybe 50-75 items long, so it shouldn’t be hard to cross at least a few things off the list…maybe the roof? We updated the electricity from fuses to 200 amps soon after we moved in last year)
15. call someone once a week (I realize that I get so busy, I don’t make enough of an effort to communicate with friends and family, 95% of whom are across the country from us)
15 seems like a reasonable number to me, although my husband sounded shocked at the length of my list. Maybe posting these will actually make me accountable for them!
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