good vibrations

Hi there folks,

I am sitting in my school library, about 2 hours early from class due to weird scheduling, wishing I had brought more crocheting to do. I thought I'd take this chance to update you on my crafty endeavors over the last week!

Last weekend I headed down to San Diego for the Good Vibrations Unschooling Conference. There is oh so much to be said about the wonderfulenss that is GV. I love the philosophy, the location, the people especially... but I was NOT prepared for how much love they had for ME! I showed up pretty late on Saturday, and decided not to set out my wares. I was saying hi to folks I haven't seen in a long time, and I was just plain tired. I enjoyed the evening, especially singing loud and boisterous girl scout songs all night.

The next day I set up my table - I had carted with me all sorts of random hand made odds and ends: earrings of course,
and magnets,
ceramics,
some beanies, bags, coin purses, bird decorations and my new rings! (and probably more, I just can't think of what). I had a pretty full table inside - and was amazed by how I hadn't even finished setting stuff up yet when I had my first customers!

Unschoolers are definitly my best customers, by the way. My favorite thing of all time is having kids come over with a few dollars and buy them and their friends semi-matching things. I was selling my rings for $1.00, so that was very popular with the younger crowd (although the older folks liked them too!) I ran out of rings and was making them on demand right there!

Amy Steinberg, an amazing and inspiring musician was playing a concert for us at the hotel. I decided to set up my stuff in an outdoor table so I could watch the show AND keep selling! I am so, so, so glad I did. Amy is fantastic, beautiful voice, and every song has a wonderful message. There were people dancing and hula-hooping like crazy, and it was some of the most fun ever. I was supposed to leave that night, and people kept buying so I kept selling...probably til 11pm or so.

The unschoolers wiped me out! I came home and had to buy a bunch of ring making stuff, and am working on more birds and earrings!

Patchwork Indie is coming up in November, and there are a few smaller boutiques in October that I am going to - so I need to get cracking.

I'll leave you with this fun photo:


Look closely, one of my birds is in there somewhere!!!

contest time!!!

I am feeling the urge to give away a free pair of earrings! Today I want to really thank the folks who have already bought some of my handmade items, so this contest is specifically for you.

Here's what you have to do to win....


1. If you haven't already, go to facebook.com/royaboya and "like" the page

2. Submit a photograph of you or someone you know wearing or using one of royaboya's items. Put the photo on royaboya's facebook wall, with a comment about who is wearing it, why they like it, or some other little bit of info.

3. Do this by September 27th.

4. I will take all the folks who have posted photos, and randomly draw one to win a pair of earrings!

Let me know if you have any questions!!!

start of a new semester

Hi there world, so it's the start of a new semester...and time to wrap up some projects and start others. School technically starts on Monday, although my 1st class is Tuesday. I start seeing clients at my practicum site the same day, and I just got the dates for the Indie Patchwork shows in November! I don't FEEL like summer is over yet, but the world sure wants me to be thinking about the fall.

So here's my project rundown:


1. Thesis
Since I last wrote, I put aside the thesis plan to finish the IRB packet. This is an intense thing - the IRB is the review board that decides whether or not I am allowed to conduct my research at all. I was intensely nervous for the anti-climatic turning-in-of-the-packet last week. It included a letter from my thesis advisor, their packet (title, topic, ethics review, hypothesis, purpose, benefits, how I will protect the subjects, etc. etc.), ALL of my measurement scales, a copy of my survey instrument, the letters of approval from the groups that I will be sending my survey to, informed consent, and my intro email to the groups. Big giant packet, emailed and hand delivered to their office. I did that last week, and now I wait for the board to review and approve! Hopefully there won't be too many edits...

2. Craft Shows - I just got the dates for the Patchwork Indie shows in November! I instantly made a list of goals - new earrings, birds, and washcloths by then. I love Patchwork and I think before-christmas is going to be a great time. I want to make sure I look ahead to that so I don't get surprised by it and waste that opportunity.

3. Classes at CSULB
I am taking 17 units:
A. Trauma and Grief
B. Group Counseling
C. Meds
D. Clinic
E. EDP520 (research)
F. Thesis

I'll be able to write more about my goals in each one when I actually attend a class. Right now my goal is to SURVIVE this semester. I bought a calendar, and all I need is to stay organized, focused, and keep from procrastinating.

4. Practicum - I have been doing trainings at my site for over a month now. On Tuesday I officially put in my "slips" - which are requests for clients in certain time spots. I am officially allowed to start on August 31st. I am nervous, excited, ready, scared.... honestly until today my biggest concern was time management. Then I read a news story about therapy gone awry, and now I am scared of ruining people for life. I don't want to make them worse!! So my head is all over the place where my practicum is concerned.


5. Work - I put in my two weeks notice almost 2 weeks ago. Monday is my last day. I am sad to leave my clients - they are truly the best part of this job, but I also feel bad for not...feeling bad. I have a hard time with transitions - the minute I decided to resign, I was done. I also don't like the awkwardness of these goodbyes...so I have been sort of avoiding telling people I've been leaving. Probably not the greatest thing, but... that's me.

6. Exercise - I am on a three day streak of 10 minutes a day. Monday: water aerobics for 1 hour, Tuesday: cycling for 51 minutes, Wednesday: walking for hours, today: water aerobics for 1 hour. I am trying to look ahead in my schedule and do the thing that sounds the most fun!


7. Sprint Triathlon training - I haven't done anything organized with this training - but I am going to start incorporating biking into my week. I feel a little stuck without a good (real) bike, which might just be an excuse. I don't know. I just don't know that much about this. But I figure - biking, running, swimming - I'll just do *something* related to those three things until I have the wherewithall to push it further.

8. Healthy living - Honestly, this has been rough for me lately. I had a really rough time about two weeks ago, and all I could do was watch tv and eat. I've never eaten emotionally like that before. It was awful. The thing that picked me up out of it was going to Big Bear and going camping and fishing with my husband and cousins. I came home happier and more resolved. I don't even want to give myself crazy goals here...I just want to make the BEST choice of the options I have, MOST of the time.

9. Therapy - Still attending, but need to figure out a better schedule. Still love it, still a strong proponent for it. Also it got me to start journaling again, which for someone who preaches the benefits of journaling all the time, has done it way less than she should lately. I even got my water colors out last week and painted a few pages.

10. Husband - In the process of revising certain roles and figuring out how we do this wonderful marriage thing - yes, it's been a year and 2 weeks, but being an overachieving student and MFT trainee and wife require awareness, prioritizing, and conscious decision making. I have a hard time being multiple roles, and I feel frequently like my DH suffers. There are my wants: to nurture, to make the house beautiful, to feed and cook and take care of, to garden and be self-sustaining, to create a house with light and music and creativity, to spend time with him and be able to do the extra little things that make his life better and easier. There are my other wants: to watch 4 seasons of Madmen in a row, to crochet for hours, to read and re-read YA books. There are pressing requirements: to write that paper, to study for that test, to attend that training and buy dogfood. It is so hard for me to prioritize my values, my goals, my wants, and my schedule. I keep thinking it HAS to be easier once I am done with school - but I want to "bloom where I'm planted" and not stave off the life I want for "later" because that feels like a death trap. I also am not great at little bits of everything - maybe something I should work on. Maybe I should physically set a timer and do 15 minutes of EVERYTHING I want to do every day. I don't know. But it's something I think about a lot.

11. Cousins - K and Y are going back to Spain tomorrow morning. I am really, really sad to have them leave. Their presence this summer has made it exciting - they're both really funny and sweet and I enjoyed having them here so much.

12. Making things for other people - I have 5 shawls I am making for a friend's wedding, and curtains for my cousin. I have a little over 1 month for the shawls, and the curtains should have been done 6 months AGO. I am a huge slacker. I will get out the sewing machine this weekend and work on the curtains. I will.

So that's me right now. Full of so many directions. Maybe that timer thing isn't a bad idea - then at least I'll get to it all.

bird decorations!

So.... another little textile obsession of mine, spurred on by my constant browsing through ravelry's baby patterns... This is a quick little project that is an awesome stash-buster! I didn't buy a single new thing for any of these... just using up the awesome little bits of yarn I love and don't want to get rid of (you know, the half yard of baby alpaca, etc.) and random buttons I found in the bottom of my sewing box. The idea was to make a mobile out of these, and I haven't gotten that far yet... but I keep making the birds!

First you crochet a circle - any yarn, any pattern of stripes, anything. Then crochet a beak, wings, and sew them in. Fold the circle in half, sew some button eyes, attach a crochet chain to the center, fold in half and sew shut!

These aren't the greatest photos - but I was too excited not to share them right away. They are super fast creations - and after this first batch, I know better what to do next time. I have a bunch at home that are halfway in the works right now! Haha. love the birds! This blog has an actual pattern for you if you're interested. :)

Baby Blocks!

I spent Saturday/Sunday in Santa Barbara for my friend Marina's "baby warming" - she is about 4 months along, and as this kid should grow up calling me Aunt Roya...I wanted to make sure I made a near-to-my-heart sort of present.

I agonized a little bit, actually - no idea what to make. I wanted to make sure I made something gender neutral (for practical and philosophical reasons), and I didn't want to make anything other people would make either...

So I started by finding my favorite book covers from when I was little - and I printed them on iron-on-transfer paper. My idea was to make a quilt using these book covers and yellow fuzzy fleece backing! Well...I accidentally ironed on a book cover that while it LOOKED like a Dr. Suess book, it was actually a spoof and not exactly baby-blanket appropriate.

So I decided to make "baby blocks" instead. They are each hand-sewn, with the book covers cut up into 3 inch squares, and that yellow fleece as the supplemental material. I stuffed them with hypo-allergenic batting, and put a bell in each one so it would make baby-attracting noise!

I also made a box for them to go in, using more book covers!

This was a super fun project, and I can think of about 8000 variations I'd like to make. Can't wait to do more :)

Project update time!

One of the things I love about keeping a blog is the ability to go back and read old posts...I've been trying to do this more consciously lately, because I use this blog a lot to "remember to..." and it sure helps to re-read!!!

Anyways - here is a list of some projects I had going, that it is time for an update on! It's been a really busy summer so far - I had a summer class, started my practicum, and have relatives visiting from Spain. I feel a little scattered, a little frantic... and like I am losing sight a little bit on some of my goals. So this is a good time to stop and revisit them.



1. Thesis
I've had one long thesis meeting this summer - which was both really helpful and really exhausting at the same time. My thesis is on measuring adult homeschooler's attitudes towards psychotherapy. I'm a little lost with some of the statistics, and feel like I need a refresher course. I have another meeting on Wednesday, so I have a lot of work to do between now and then. We are working on our 10-20 page "thesis plan" which is basically the skeleton of the thesis that we will flesh out over the next year. There are 4 other people working on their theses, and we meet as a group with our advisor. It's a great group - with a variety of projects. I really enjoy working with them... but definitely need to get in some good hours of thesis work in the next few days.

2. Craft Shows - I did several a few months ago, but have really pushed the pause button on it right now. I had to, for my sanity - but I am looking forward to getting back into it for the holidays.

3. Classes at CSULB
3a. Summer Class - This was a 7 or 8 week class that was HARD and I really enjoyed it. It was taught my our department head, and she knows her stuff. It was an in-depth treatment planning class, and I just got my grade yesterday: the hard work was worth it! I got an A...which I was really not sure I was going to get at the beginning of the semester. The next semester starts on August 29th, so I have 1 month of "freedom." (hahaha.)


4. Practicum - The last update was that I had a site... Since then I have started training at Mariposa Women and Family Center. It's been great, and informative. It's been a lot of policies and procedures training...we just started in on the forms and finances this last week. I'll keep doing training once a week until the end of August, when I start seeing clients!




5. Work - I am still working 3 days a week as A2A Coordinator and Auditor. I don't have a lot to say about that. I enjoy it when I am there, but it is hard for me to get out the door to get there. We did just get a few overnight events approved, so that's exciting. The photo is of me at our Bowling Blast event.

6. Exercise - The last time I wrote I was on week 3 of the C25K program, with the goal of running the Surf City 5k. Well - I made it all the way through the C25K program - and was amazed that I did it. I remember thinking how hard it was to run 60 seconds at a time....and I finished by running 35 minutes! Amazing. About 1 week before the 5K, I had some abdominal pains, and went to the ER. It turned out that I had another ruptured ovarian cyst. I did not need surgery this time, but I was put on bedrest for a little while. I was prepared NOT to run the 5k, but I was really, really, really disappointed that I would not be reaching my goal. The morning of the 5k, I decided to just put on my running clothes so I'd feel like part of the group (my husband, our roommate, and his girlfriend were all running the 5k as well.) I just sort of let myself get swept up in the 5k crowd at the starting line...and then started running! I decided that I could stop at any time, or walk at anytime, but that secretly I wanted to at least make it to the 1 mile marker. The 1 mile marker came up faster than I thought it would, so I decided to try for 2. Our friends took off, but my husband stayed by my side the whole time. The last 1/2 mile was the hardest - I was barely running, but I did it. My husband held my hand and we skipped across the finish line. :) It was an incredible moment for me. a)I had actually completed the C25k program, b)I ran a 5k - my 3rd ever, c)I triumphed over difficulties, d)I did it with my husband.

About an hour after, I started experiencing some real pain, and I am fairly certain that I pushed my recovery back about 3 days. But you know what? I am still glad I did it.

After that 5k, I sort of just...stopped exercising. I didn't have something I was training for, which I realize is a problem. My next goal is to compete in a Sprint Triathlon. I'm going to give that it's own category now.


7. Sprint Triathlon training - I have done a little bit of research and have found a few free training programs. I'm so clueless that I'm having a little bit of a hard time figuring out what to do. What I should do is to run 3 days a week, and bike and swim on the other days. What I am doing right now - is 2 days a week of Water Aerobics, and that is all. I really love this water aerobics class, so I don't plan on giving it up. What I think I will do is go 30 minutes before the class and ride the bike on those days. I do need to pick up my running training again. I need to make a schedule and stick to it.

8. Healthy living - I joined weight watchers a few weeks ago. I go Sunday mornings at 8am with my aunt. It's been great - except I feel like I've been sabotaging myself this week. Yesterday I took steps to get back on track - I bought produce and some basic ingredients. Today I made sure I ate breakfast, and I've been snacking on oranges and celery and drinking my water. I need to remember what is important to me, and where I want to get back to. In other healthy living news... I am feeling the need for increased beauty in my life. I need nature, green, trees, ocean - something. Even if it's just smelling my tomato plants or putting my feet in mud in my front yard. This is important for my mental health, and I need to remember that.

9. Therapy - I put it on my list of projects because it's a) a big chunk of my time each week, and b)it feels like a huge project and I think about it a lot. First off, I love my therapist, and I love the 2 hours a week I am in that office drinking tea. There is this feeling of expansion inside of me that I get while I am sitting there - I feel light and on my way to understanding everything. When I leave, that feeling contracts a little bit, but less and less each week.

10. Husband - it was DH's birthday last week and I organized a surprise LAN party for him and his computer-game-lovin friends. I even downloaded the game and learned a little bit how to play too. :) It was fun and I think everyone enjoyed it! Our ONE YEAR anniversary is next week, and I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around that one too. Any ideas for a gift??

11. Cousins - my cousins Keyvan and Yasmin have been visiting from Spain all summer. They are staying one street over with my parents, and have been the catalyst for all sorts of fun so far this summer. We've been to the OC Fair (my favorite place on earth),
Rancho Los Alamitos, many-a-beach, , the midnight showing of Harry Potter , the grunion run (Adam was working that night)



Anyways - crazy summer. This weekend I am heading to Santa Barbara for my friend's baby shower, coming back and doing thesis work! I've been commissioned by another friend to knit 5 shawls for her bridesmaids... and I'd really like to do more stuff outside. How do I have time for it all?? gotta figure that out.... :)

circus treasury

Just a quick post to add a link to my latest treasury - Join the Circus!

I maaayyy have been inspired a little by the last movie I saw in theaters (Water for Elephants.) It's not a great movie, but this is a great treasury, if I do say so myself!! :)


I've been making cotton washcloths like a crazy person - ready to sell alongside Wi's soaps and lotions! I'd love love love to get some resin in my magnets in the next few days.... they are just sitting, empty, waiting...

I also did a bunch of contacting today - talked to BJ at the Marina LB farmers market - I will hopefully be selling there on the first Sunday in July. I contacted Art for the Soul, and Fern's garden - crossing my fingers!!! Also, a friend of mine wants to hold another Backyard Bazaar - so I sent some dates! Things are moving moving moving!