Craftiness = Stalling

I know I should be working on my book. My dashing young husband printed out the whole beast for me two days ago (there are 100 pages, not including notes) so I can read through it and see where I need to fill holes and re-work story lines. But I have yet to pick it up.

The stack of papers is just too intimidating at this point. Besides, what if I read it and realize that now that's it's actually printed on paper instead of floating inside my USB it's rubbishy rubbish? I don't think I could get over that easily.

And besides again, I've been busy. Being crafty.

No, you are correct, I am not normally a particularly crafty person. In fact the advent calendar I threw myself into making before Christmas was sadly abandoned after I tired of wrestling with technical difficulties involving my relic of a sewing machine. But I will finish it someday--it looked so cute on the online tutorial!

Yet, despite my general uncraftiness I tend to get the bug every now and again around holidays. It probably has something to do with that darn Martha Stewart and her inexhaustible supply of "easy and simple" holiday crafts that are usually not nearly as simple as she makes them look, and I can almost always find a way to spoil.

But this time Martha was right. I can make homemade soap in the shape of cute little hearts for Valentine's Day. See:

I tried two different molding techniques and the first ones turned out too think and the second ones too thin, but at least now I know what I'm doing.

And making soap together provided great bonding time with my little lady--which cannot be said for the time I spend writing. After we set the soap aside to cool, Amelia and I sat on the kitchen floor, shared a bowl of popcorn and listened to a fabulous Ella Fitzgerald CD. It was a picture perfect morning.

And I actually finished something crafty. Hoorah, hoorah for me. I'll read my book tomorrow, I'll probably be in the mood then, right?