I can't stop making Christmas crafts

And on the moderate craft front, I can't quite seem to abandon my list of Christmas crafts I had wanted to make and didn't get time for in December.

I made this adorable little paper village (a kit I got for like, 4 bucks on a clearance rack somewhere) while watching tv. And these Christmas ornaments came out so cute! They are made from some thrift store tart tins and Christmas odds and ends I scored (it was a major score) at a rummage sale a couple of years ago.

My plan, to implement the Moderation-theme in my crafting this year is to try really, really hard, not to buy a single craft supply unless it is a very specific item needed for a very specific project. I am totally serious. My craft supply hoarding is completely out of control and I am afraid they are going to do a whole special episode on that Hoarders tv show about me and my craft stuff. I could craft until kingdom come solely with the supplies I already possess.

Moderation

I've been trying to come up with a word that I would want to focus on in this new year. The word Balance is always on the tip of my tongue, but perhaps it is too easy while being too ambiguous. How does one get to "balance"? For me, my missing it by a mile or more seems to occur when I don't practice moderation. Moderation does not come easy to me. If I'm in for a penny, I'm in for a pound, so to speak. Just workout? Just do some triathlons? oh no...it's gotta be an Ironman. Go out and rescue a cat? Just one? Why not thirty or forty? Fix a few cats? Certainly starting an energy-sucking non-profit that consumes my life but fixes a lot of feral cats would make more sense.....you get the idea. Thank goodness I never got the urge to start foster care/adoption for children or I'm sure I'd be putting Mia Farrow to shame.



There has GOT to be some middle of the road here. And I'm gonna try to find it.



In terms of triathlon this year, I am definitely looking forward to.....HALVES! Yea, beautiful, manageable yet challenging half-Ironman races. I'm signed up for Wildflower (okay, so I had to pick the hardest one) in late April and Vineman in July. This year I would also like to see some....VARIETY! I am desperate for a change of pace. Cross-country skiing...bring it on. Some shorter, fun races...I'm there. I'm even looking at some entirely different things....I have a bug in my bonnet to try this "Tough Mudder" (http://toughmudder.com/) and possibly reprise my not-so extensive adventure racing career. Anything interesting that does not involve mind-numbingly long workouts for weeks on end.

Any other suggestions? The weirder the better.

As long as it is weird in moderation.