dipping my toes into everyone's puddles

With so much talk of job loss these days, I'm grateful for being blessed with the skills I have and for all the opportunities that have poured into my lap. I sometimes wonder if opportunities rain into every ones laps, but some people just aren't tuned in to jump into the puddle.

I've come to learn about myself that I'm happiest as a "Jayne of all trades".... it keeps me, well, on my toes. I tend to bore easily, so having so many puddles to jump in and out of keeps me from boredom. And it's nice that all of them allow me to have Tanner with me, including my part time dayjob as an environmental geologist.... something I feel so blessed with. About once a week I have a friend watch him so I can get in some field work, but the other couple hours a week I can bring him into the office. My current puddles include my own puddle Magnolia Skies, my environmental job, my custom dyeing for Little Hippie, and most currently.... young and hip marketing extraordinaire for a photography studio. OK, well maybe not hip, and definitely not extraordinaire..... I'm just trying to psyche myself up for this.

I just made arrangements with my old boss from the photography studio to do some marketing for them. I'll be blogging for them, keeping up a flickr site with their images, and whatever other "hip" marketing strategies I can think of. I'm really excited for this.... something easy to do from home with Tanner, and I think it is going to be fun. If you asked me 3 years ago if I would ever get back into the wedding business again, I might have shot you down with an evil eye, HISSSSSSSS, back you demon!!! But taking a breather from over the top weddings and having pursued my own path, I'm ready to jump into something new. Or old, depending how you look at it.

Anyways, this new opportunity presented itself while getting a beautiful fall portrait done with my old boss and his wife......

*moonlighting* on

..... headbands..... lots of headbands.

Tis the season for making my headbands for the boutique Dava that I consign my goods at here in Connecticut. There is something very meditative to me about making these. I do them assembly line fashion, and even the ironing (which I despise) becomes zen like. And counting them.... counting them over and over again, stacking them in piles, the done pile, the ironed pile, the stitched pile. sewing up a set. Then counting again. Can't stop counting them. Just feels so accomplished.

Sewing them tonight while this guy sits on my serger overlooking the work. I couldn't figure out why this little guy was so intriguing to me, I found him in Tanner's crib last week and brought him into the toy rotation. But every night after Tanner was tucked in, I found myself sitting with this guy, holding him, stroking his oh so soft fur. So tonight I decided he would keep me company as I moonlighted through the headbands.

Couldn't figure out what it was about this little guy.... that is until I was uploading the photos from today's hour of fresh air over at the arrowhead grove. And I spotted this one.....

Hmmm you think? :)

convenience store?

My pondering of the month is how when I hit motherhood there was no longer anything convenient about "convenient stores". seriously, whats convenient about having to fumble around unbuckling your kid, dragging him out of the car seat into the store, then fumbling around trying to buckle in your squirming little love a whole 2 minutes later? nothing. all it is is motivation to be a bad parent. Like when you start thinking, geez, I really need a gallon of milk.... i'm only going to be a minute.... and i never lose sight of the car since it's 10 feet away from the milk and the checkout line through a wall to ceiling glass window.... couldn't i just leave the kid in the car for 2 minutes????

And, well, that's that. you know you can't leave your kid in the car so you don't. but you think about it anyways, which reminds you of the old days of convenience stores. so instead you go to the grocery store, which turns out to be a good thing since you remembered you needed fresh vegies anyways.

I'm just saying, when will they make a drive through where you can pick up a gallon of milk? Cause I think that would be a money maker.

Mama and her baby bear, Halloween.