TRANSITION

The title of this post refers to stuff that will be happening within the next ten months or so. We might be moving...anywhere!...at the end of spring 2011. My husband's current position is only a five year position so he has begun the process to find a permanent tenured position elsewhere. Since its academic (he's a scientist), its a year long process. He will be applying soon then hopefully in the winter he will be asked for interviews, and then- fingers crossed- he will get some offers in the spring, and then...we could be moving!
I say Could Be, but it is really Most Likely since there isn't too much open here.

I used to find this prospect really unappealing. I have lived here my whole life, my family is here, my friends are here, I LIKE it here. But...in the past few months, I've changed my thinking and now I'm pretty excited.
We could be anywhere from North Carolina, Boston, Seattle, Dallas, Michigan...

ADVENTURE!!!!

As it gets closer and I have an idea of where we are going to be, I might see if any of you live in (or are really familiar with) the location that looks to be the final destination, and then pick your brain for some tips on places to go and things to do. So be prepared. :)

Pumpkins???

So, sometimes laziness and procrastination pay off.

During the spring, I planted some impatiens in an old sink basin and put it out front (you can sort of see it in the right hand corner of that picture). That sink was such an awesome find in my dad's greenhouse. Its a (slightly rusty) cobalt blue and, because its a sink basin, it has drainage out of the bottom and is perfect for planting. I thought it was perfect and very Baltimore. We put all kinds of crap in our front yards.

Anyhow, when I was planting the flowers, I used some old potting soil that I had never put away from when I used it last year and which had been sitting to the side of the porch all winter and spring. (Not putting the soil away, my first little bit o' Laziness and Procrastination. I procrastinated so long that it was back to planting season.) The soil worked fine, the plants have prospered nicely, and grew all summer long.

Well, towards the end of summer, I noticed a vine growing in the corner of the planter. I watched it grow as I walked by it daily, always saying to myself that I should pull it out the next time I walked by (the "Next Time" see, more Procrastination). Well, I never DID pull that silly vine out, and one day when I walked by I looked closer and saw that there was an orange flower at the end. Now...I think...that the vine...that I didn't pull out because I'm a lazy procrastinator...is a PUMPKIN VINE!!!

This all makes perfect sense, because also last year, right by where I left the potting soil to sit all winter, I also left our fall pumpkins to rot and go back into the soil all Circle of Life like. So....the pumpkin seeds must have migrated towards the bag of soil (which had a huge hole in the bottom), so that when I then used it to plant the flowers...I also planted...PUMPKINS!!!!

(Unless they aren't pumpkin vines...but I think they are...?)



After planting the impatiens, I used the rest of the soil to go around the hostas I have in front, so now I see that I have multiple vines!

So excited! I will give you updates on any actual pumpkin production. How cool would that be?!



So the moral to this story, is that sometimes...Procrastination Works Out. :)



Initiative. I gots it.

Update!....I've actually been doing what I said I was going to do (this isn't a regular occurrence for me when I set goals for myself). Since I didn't get the teaching job, I've really been working to start getting my small side business up and going. I've painted several shirts and have received four orders already!  (From friends and family, but STILL, that's where it starts right?)

Here is some stuff I've done already.

This is an outfit I painted for a friend to give to a one year old for her birthday.

Detail of the birdhouse on the leg:

Below is a shirt I painted for my son to wear. I picked the maple leaf as a nod to his half Canadian heritage and it says Fall because I'm so excited for it!

Detail:

This is one I painted for my neice.

Detail:

So anyway, I've actually had some follow through lately. Let's hope I keep it up! I think it will though, I've really been enjoying it! :)

To close, here a picture of one of the designs in action. To practice the birds in the first design, I painted them on an old blank onsie from Walmart that the Baboo had in his collection. Here is is wearing it!

HAPPY FALL!

I don't think its TECHNICALLY fall yet, but maybe it is, what day is the first day of fall? I could Google that right now- hold on...ok, it said the first official day of fall is September 22nd, so I suppose its not officially fall yet. In my world however, the first day of fall is September 1st, so...HAPPY FALL everyone!

I love fall. The crisp air (which unfortunately in Baltimore, can be allusive until November. We might be lucky this year though, its been promisingly cool this week.) The colors, the pumpkins, the leaves, the cider, the seasonal beverages at Starbucks...I love it.

I picked myself up some mums at Giant last week, as well as a sunflower in a pot. (The picture on the left is not the Giant of course. It would be awesome if my neighborhood supermarket looked like that! That's a picture from the pumpkin patch a few years ago). I got a yellow one and a rust colored one and they are out front making me happy. On a side note, I walked to Giant instead of taking the car. I packed the Baboo into the stroller, which is conveniently outfitted with a large basket underneath the seat (and cup holders, it also has cupholders- my favorite feature) and we rolled along to the store. It was nice to not use the car, and it was also nice to have a walk. My neighborhood is pretty cute, so I've been trying to walk more and get my fill of the near by domestic cuteness.

Anyway, I wanted to wish everyone a happy fall! I hope you are enjoying it!  What is your favorite fall activity?

More of the Same but Different

Where have I been? Mostly in job limbo. For four months. I applied to return to my former career as a high school history teacher in my city school system at the beginning of May. In June I got hired by a school I was excited about. Then for two months after that the school worked hard to process me through the system's HR in the midst of a hiring freeze. I found out yesterday they were not successful.

Ah well. Thankfully I still have a boss who didn't want to see me leave and a job that I don't hate. I like where I work, but the pay is awful and barely worth the money I spend on daycare in order to go there everyday. On the other hand, the benefits are good, I've been there for four years, I like the work environment, and in this economy, the pay may not be great, but it IS pay.

So, I will continue on there and then see where things go next year.

Either way, the limbo was sort of good. I was able to examine my life and since things were so uncertain, figure out what things were important and what I wanted this year to look like (even though I'm not teaching, I do work at a college, so my brain considers 'years' to go from September to September, not January to January).

What I found is that I want this year to be more creative. I had started looking into selling things on Etsy, and did a few projects for friends which I really enjoyed back before I started the new job process. So now that I won't be focused on lesson planning and the other things that come along with teaching, I want to concentrate on creativity in all aspects of my life. Come to think of it...this sounds a lot like a post I wrote before I entered job limbo four months ago. Maybe I should have cut out the middle man and just gone with the creative life, but I think I needed all of this drama to get focused.

So anyway. Hopefully today will be the start of a new and more focused creative life for me. (Finally. I never make ANYTHING simple...) Its so easy for me to get sidetracked though (and lazy, if I'm being honest), so I am glad that I feel much 'onward and upward' than I have in the past.

We'll see. Cross your fingers and send good energy my way. :)

I've also missed my blog friends. Even though I don't know you all in person, I enjoy reading what you write (I have kept up with my google reader and Twitter, so I hadn't totally fallen off the face of the earth) and I do consider you friends of sorts. I guess that's whats sort of weird but cool about the internet. So I look forward to being back and being a more active participant. Thanks to those who are still reading this!

Cheers!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!

Enjoy your day! :)

What would Paula Deen do?

To continue with my Paula Deen posting:


Today I was supposed to go to the first birthday party of one of my friend's kids, but my own almost one year old was too sick to go (without me being officially labeled the Bad Mother Who Brings a Snotty Coughing Baby to Another Baby's Birthday Party) and my husband had to work. So I wasn't able to go and was bummed about that. I don't have too many things in my planner, and this was something that had been there for several weeks.

So...I was rattling around the house wondering what to do with myself with no money and a sick kid, when I thought:

What would Paula Deen do?!

My conclusion was that Paula Deen would make a bangin' dinner for herself. Not that an awesome dinner makes up for not going to the party that I was looking forward to, but the process of cooking was therapeutic and filled the day with something productive but creative (as opposed to say...cleaning).

So I put the kid in his exersaucer and he nommed on toast while I made apple/carrot/cranberry muffins, balsamic vinegar glazed portobello mushrooms, garlic mashed potatoes, and sauteed green beans. The mushrooms are from Vegan with a Vengeance and from my post-preparation tasting I  can attest to the fact that...they taste AWESOME. Its all sitting in casserole dishes in the fridge, the dishes are in the dishwasher, and tonight dinner is all made!


Thanks for my inspiration on a bummer day, Paula Deen; I hope I did ya proud. :)