Photo above courtesy of Kørinn Nordbundet (not sure if she was the original artist, or if she found it online like I did, but here’s a link to her flickr, where I picked it up.)
I’m exhausted. I got sunburned looking at mechanical systems on the roof of a new residence hall today, and then lost five pounds while standing in a mechanical room that was hotter than it was outside. I feel like I laid on the beach all day, with none of the sand or good conversation, and a lot more walking around in uncomfortable boots. 
So I have no tutorial today, and I decided that I’m not going to stress over that. Sometimes, it’s okay to fail. As the Mythbusters say, “Failure is always an option.” Two of my coworkers were recently seen by a doctor for stress – one with ulcers and one with a heart concern – and I want neither. No stress for the rest of the night! I’m going to be an owl (though that sounds a bit contradictory since owls are up all night, and I don’t plan to be, but whatever. Don’t poke holes in my logic.)
I do have a little bit of inspiration that I found on Pinterest though (yes, it’s a bit lazy. Did I mention I’m going to be an owl?), one that I really thought was inspiring two weeks after my birthday. I’ve been conversing with a dear friend who went through an “artless” phase for a few years while working through other parts of life, and is just getting back into it (yay!), and another who has been considering ditching everything and going to live on a horse farm. It’s never too late! It’s never too late for now! (30 Rock reference, folks. Look it up.)
The other little gem was more aimed at anyone trying to get into something new, especially in an established community, who only see what others are doing now, and haven’t seen everything those same people did to get where they are now. The two pieces kind of go hand in hand, because while it’s never too late for now, you can’t just jump in and expect to be Julia Child at her most brilliant moment right off the bat either. You’ve got to learn the cookbook, make everything in the cookbook, (maybe not feed anyone some of those recipes if they’re disgusting – you don’t have to tell anyone you made a runny souffle’), master the cookbook, then throw the cookbook away and make your own recipes. There are many steps between buying the cookbook and making your own recipes. Don’t be discouraged! Just keep making those recipes, every day (and I can’t stress EVERY DAY enough), and eventually you’ll be able to throw away the cookbook and create your own.
I hope my Tuesday post isn’t disappointing, without a tutorial. I’ll try harder next week.