made by Leeloumade by Leeloumade by Leeloumade by Leeloumade by Leelou

About Me

In conversations with people, I've been asked "why blog? What the heck do you write about, and who really cares?".  Well, hmm.  Who really cares? That I can't answer. Sorry. Probably no one.  The original intention was to start a blog about what's going on with my crafting.  A way for people to keep up with what I've been making, etc.  Then it kind of took on a life of its own.  I type at about the speed of thought (no, seriously), and sometimes my fingers (and brain) run away with me.  I've always enjoyed writing, and I've always kept journals and diaries my whole life.  I've shared parts of them with friends and family, and I'm embarrassed to admit that I was "that kid" that read their journal entries to people they knew.  What can I say? I felt like I was damned entertaining, and I wanted to share! Or maybe it was more like that song by The Animals "Please don't let me be misunderstood". Remember? "I'm just a soul whose intentions are gooooooood! Oh lawd, please don't let me be mis...understood" dee deedledee deedledeeeeeee.

I talk too much.  Waaaaaaay too much.  After long bouts of pondering, I've come to the conclusion that it's out of a desire to be understood.  I try to phrase things in the perfect way, to pick EXACTLY the right words to convey my thoughts.  I fail, try again, fail, try again, repeat ad nauseum until I'm telling myself in my head to "shut up! You're talking too much!" Yet the compulsion continues.  Add alcohol, and I'm an unstoppable yammering machine.  I'm hoping this site will be a way for me to get my thoughts down without assaulting anyone who's willing to listen to my endless barrage of inane chatter.  Maybe if I can get it all out here I'll be less inclined to talk incessantly.

Why "Wonderfully Awkward"? Because Awkwardly Awkward would be a bit redundant.  Also, if my life is going to be a constant string of embarrassing and awkward moments, I might as well try to make an entertaining story out of it and make you laugh and be happy you aren't me.

I had to learn a long time ago to swallow my pride and laugh at myself.  As a child, I used to get upset and pouty at all the indignities I suffered.  I wanted so badly to portray myself as dignified and "together", that whenever my cover was blown I'd try to save face or get all butt-hurt.  Yeah.  That worked REAL well.  It's best just to chuckle (if you can) and say "haha, that's SO me!" because then at least you're in on the joke.


I'm not constantly tripping over my own feet, or a complete Bridget Jones ALL of the time, mind you.  There are a few things I'm quite good at.  I grew up playing piano and cello from the age of 7, and I'm pretty darn good.  I've lost most of my piano skills, but cello still remains something I'm pretty accomplished at.  Sewing also kind of surprised me, and I'm constantly impressed and proud of the things I make.  Opening my etsy shop has been one of the best pride and ego boosters in my life so far.  No matter how much of a doofus I feel like most of the time, it feels great to whip out a project and KNOW it's something I can be proud of.  When people look at the things I've knit and say "you're so talented!", it makes me laugh.  I followed a pattern.  Usually.  Knitting is basically following instructions, and unless you're designing things, not much talent is involved.  Practice? Sure.  Talent? Not so much.  Crafting feeds my soul like nothing else I've ever found.  The craft section of Highlights magazine was like my porn as a kid.  I wanted to make EVERYTHING they had on those two pages every issue.  Remember Highlights magazine? Child of the 80's right here!

If you've read this far, you get a cookie.  Here's my basic stats in a nutshell. Here goes.

I'm currently 31, moved back in with my parents in the summer of '10, and I live in Orange County, CA.  "Oooh! You're so lucky! It's so pretty there!" I hear this all the time.  But ya know what? Orange County is one of the most expensive, high cost-of-living places you can be.  My boyfriend and I had a beautiful place within spitting distance of the beach, but being a Marine and moving around, we had to leave it.  He's currently outside Philadelphia being a recruiter for the next three years, and there's no way I could leave my job and find something comparable out there.  I've got debts and two furry mouths to feed, so I stayed behind.  I don't want to leave my job anyway, since it's the best place I've ever worked.  Sports massage therapist by day, crazy crafter by, well....the rest of the time.  I have two awesome siberian huskies, Loki and Rowan, who are almost 3 and 2.5, respectively.  Their pictures get posted.  A lot. They're my kids, the only kind I'll ever have.  I love them more than life itself.

Okay, okay, I'll wrap this up. I have about a bazillion more things I'd love to write about, but I should hold some back for future post fodder, right? Thank you for reading, I LOVE comments, live long and prosper, nanoo nanoo (see? Child of the 80's!), all that jazz.


7 comments:

  1. Love your Blog, Bonnie. I'm almost twice your age (child of the 50's) and I remember loving the craft projects in Highlight magazine! Thanks for bringing back a happy memory.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Linda! Remember Goofus and Gallant? Gosh, so many things about that magazine were so great. I have such a strong memory of my parents leaving for a trip while I was sick (my grandparents were watching me), and I was too wrapped up in cutting out a shoebox, collecting comics from the funny papers, and taping them together to care. Yeahbyehaveagreattriploveyou! Love your art on your website, by the way!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just found your blog thanks to Craft Gossip. And I have read back to about April, if I don't pry myself away from the computer I'll never get ANYTHING done around here.
    I just wanted to say that I fully intend to read your entire blog and that I enjoy the way you write. I also want to make your 'garage sailor' pouch!
    So, I guess my ending comment shall be: Thanks for sharing your life with me, a complete stranger. :)
    I'm going to go click the "follow" button now.....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ange- you just made me feel like a million bucks. Thank you so much! I've felt the same way about two other blogs. Crazy Aunt Purl's, and Hyperbole and a Half. I couldn't stop reading! To have someone feel that way about my writing just makes me want to write more and more! Thank you so much, and thank you for reading. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just found your blog! Loved the pillow case and have added you to my reader.......looking forward to reading more from you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Bonnie, thank you. I have the perfect person to make the ear bud wrap for. Maybe he'll learn to boogie. He'll be untangled anyway. And this is just in time for my Sunday Knitters group. I will amaze them and give you TOTAL credit. Be ready for more fans. Thank you ever so from Whidbey Island WA!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi,

    My name is Jennifer Thoden and I produce several online "how-to sew" publications. The one that you may be most interested in is www.SimpleSewingProjects.com

    I am looking for new contributors to the site and to the soon to be released NewStand iPad edition.

    Would you like to be a featured contributor? Before you answer, let me give you some facts:

    SimpleSewingProjects.com receives about 4000 unique visitors a month with about 300 paid subscribers a month.
    The new iPad edition will hopefully increase this volume.
    I also have a newsletter of over 10,000 subscribers
    My visitors want fun and simple sewing projects, new sewing tips and techniques. They love videos, illustrations, and PDFs.

    I can not pay you. BUT I can do the following for you:
    Full bio - as detailed as you want
    Link to your web site
    Promote one of your patterns for subscribers to purchase
    Exposure to the 10,000 list subscriber, 4000+/month online traffic plus the new traffic to the iPad version.

    What you can contribute:
    Step by step illustrated sewing project
    Step by step illustrated sewing tip
    Project or tip in video format
    A full page article on a sewing technique or sewing knowledge to share
    You could simply submit one of your e-patterns as a PDF and I can use this... easy on you!
    What some of my contributors have done in the past is contributed a small project, like a wrist purse and then sold the tote bag pattern at the end. Something like that would be fine too.

    If you are interested, please send me a response. I am lining up my next 3 months of issues and I would love to develop a positive and long term relationship with you.


    Jennifer Thoden
    jenthoden@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

Talk to me!