Yes, it's Hump Day for most of us and what better day to tell you a little more about myself than today? Well, I guess yesterday I could have said something before going into my obsession of yarn, but that just needed to be put out there front and center.
Well, as you already know, my name is Leah. What you don't know is that I have always loved my name. All in all, there aren't too many people with my name in the world and I've always thought it to be pretty. I can remember when I was little, asking my mom why I was named Leah and she responded, "because you had blond hair and blue eyes and looked like a Leah." That was good enough for me.
I am a mother, a wife, a sister, and recently an auntie and a grandma. I have a beautiful, smart, talented daughter who (gulp) will be in high school next year, four wonderful grown step-children, two amazing sisters, two awesome brothers, the sweetest niece that melts my heart every time I see or think of her and the most handsome grandson in the world. I cannot forget about my partner in crime, my love, my husband who is there with me or for me every step of the way. I also have two of the greatest dogs a person could ask for, they are quite the pair and two of my best friends; a tiny chihuahua/rat terrier mix, Vegas and a big boxer/pit
bull mix, Brooklyn.
I do not have a favorite color, song or movie, there are too many good ones out there to choose just one. I use color and music to inspire me everyday and I think they are an important part of life.
I am a coffee junkie. I worked for Starbucks Coffee Co. for 9 1/2 years, holding every position there was in the store at one time or another. It wasn't until I left the company that I became a coffee addict, now I need it to survive :) I also love a velvety red wine or a good craft beer for those special occasions.
I like candy! Yes, candy... and ice cream and popcorn, pretzels and watermelon. My siblings and I all do, we pretty much believe that they must be in the family genes as our father loves these items as well. Although I shouldn't eat candy, ice cream or pretzels, I admit that I can't stop and unless it is a life or death situation, I do not plan to. When I was pregnant and in my third trimester, I ate a watermelon everyday!! I also like black licorice, besides my older sister, I don't know too many people who can say this.
My favorite place I've ever visited is New Zealand, I trekked half way around the world by myself to get there. Everyone should visit there at least once in their life, it is absolutely beautiful! My second favorite place would have to be New York City, the buzz of it is amazing!
I am creative by nature and make something almost everyday, be it for a customer, a potential customer, a family member or myself. I have been creating for as long as I can remember. When I was little you could always find me with a box of crayons and a coloring book or paper, paints or a lump of clay. I specialize in no one art or craft really, I love them all, which has lead me to two shops crammed full of a little bit of everything. As of late I would say I've really put a lot of time and passion into my knitting and now hand dyeing yarn. My grandmother taught me how to knit and crochet when I was small, I would say seven or eight years old. I can remember just sitting and watching her work the needles and yarn or hook and thread, she moved her hands so gracefully and elegantly, I had to know how. She taught me on a pair of blue aluminum size 8 needles with navy blue worsted weight yarn, I still have the needles. Grandma kept telling me to relax and not hold my yarn so tight, yet to this day I am a tight knitter, I've always wanted my stitches to be perfect. That day, like so many others spent with my Grandma King, left a huge imprint on my life, to me she was perfect and I've always tried to follow in her footsteps; you may hear me speak of her again from time to time.
I love to cook and bake, but due to my illness I do not do it as much as I did in the past or should. Not that I let my family go hungry, there is always food on the table, but I'm not as adventurous in the kitchen as I used to be. Being loaded with dietary restrictions has taken the fun out of cooking and well, eating. I haven't really embraced the fact that there are fun recipes out there that I can explore so we just eat the same things over and over again. Boring! Plus, eating with restrictions can be expensive! One of these days I'll get off of my butt and have some fun in the kitchen again. If anyone has any tasty gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free recipes they'd like to share, please do. I need some motivation and maybe this blog will be just that.
Flower and vegetable gardening are also on my list of loves, yet another thing inspired by my grandma. Again, I don't know if I have a favorite flower as there are too many beautiful choices to decide, but much to my sister's dismay, I do like geraniums. Geraniums remind me of my grandma, just the smell, which many people think is gross, can bring me back to my grandparents' porch. They may not be the prettiest flower out there, but I always have to have at least one geranium in my garden or a planter.
I live with fibromyalgia
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/basics/definition/con-20019243 along with other illnesses that may or may not be caused by the fibro. If you do not know what fibromyalgia is, it is a neurological condition that causes widespread chronic pain throughout your body among other things, but the pain is in my case the hardest to deal with. I lived with the condition for years without knowing it and before it got so bad that I could not handle it anymore and it cost me my job of over 9 years. When I found out what it was I was devastated, as of now, there is no cure only therapeutic treatments. Fibromyalgia is different for everyone who has it and affects some more than others, I have a severe case and even with medication, treatments and rest, I am in some kind of pain. Each day is different and there is no rhyme or reason to the pain unless I know I over did something somewhere along the line. I try to bury myself in my creativity and stay busy to try and keep my mind off of it. If you have fibro. and have any tips on what works for you, I'd love to hear them.
Okay, so maybe that was a lot about me. If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me and getting to know me a little better. I promise not all of my posts will ramble on like this. I hope you have a great day, listen to some music and enjoy the colors!
