Blog Archives September 2006

And when I say bad, I do not mean good.  I apologize to my visitors for not having a whole lot of public information on the blog lately.  I certainly have some stuff to share, some things I have been promising to get on this board for a while, and some business news – but I quite literally have not had an iota of extra time. On all fronts, this is the busy season – and I have to prioritize (blogging, while very important, had to take a back seat).  But, here I am and I want to make the most of this post, so bear with me.

First off, I want to say Happy Birthday to Watermelon Rind Designs.  We are officially 1 year old this month and that is such a huge milestone.  Obviously, this is not a one-man pony show, so I want to thank my Web developer (and friend), my mom (and incredibly talented business partner), my customers who have stopped in to our tiny spot on the World Wide Web and purchased our items, the stores where we have sold our wares, and my family for being supportive and encouraging.  It is such an incredible feeling to put a lifelong dream into motion and I am forever grateful for the support.  I have such visions of making this store bigger and better and I hope you stay along for the ride.

Secondly, if you are in or around Franklin, MA on October 22, 2006 I invite you to stop by the Franklin Elks where we will be selling our items at a craft fair.  I will post the times later.  We’ll have a bunch of gorgeous baby blankets and blanket gift sets, some fall decorations for your house, Christmas goods, one-of-a-kind hand bound journals and photo albums and some scrapbook packets.

More later (and, no, not 2 and 1/2 weeks later – I will be better, I promise)…

Have a great day!

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I have been busy…busier than I have been in quiet some time, and I apologize for the lack in regular posts.  Life has been a whirlwind, a blur, purely exhausting and I have so many things I want to share: so many cool things from CKU to tell you about (I know, it seems like old news now), projects I have been working on, life updates, WRD business announcements, etc.  I was going to start today and do this mind-numbing post to catch everyone up on the last 2-3 weeks, but I stopped short.  There are more important things to touch upon today.

This time of year always gets to me a little – it didbefore the events of 2001 and it still does today.  The fall is always a time of tremendous change and chaos in my family’s life and the rat race sometimes brings me down – I long for the leisurely pace of the summer and a much simpler life in general.  The anniversary of September 11 weighs heavy on my mind as well – I won’t soon forget where I was, what I was doing and how badly I just wanted to get home and huddle close with my family.  I am still reduced to tears with each related newscast and when I hear Superman by Five for Fighting.

I was sitting in this ridiculous traffic this morning, a somber morning at best, and a trip that usually takes me about 55 minutes on a Monday took me almost 2 hours.  I was aggravated, annoyed and thinking about the domino effect that this traffic jam was going to have on the rest of my day.  But then, a moment of silence on the radio at approximately 8:46 a.m. changed my whole perspective.  One whole minute of peace and quiet to reflect on how I shouldn’t let this traffic jam bother me at all.  Because it’s just that – a traffic jam.  Sixty seconds to let the tears fill me eyes and not feel ashamed or embarrassed – today, 9/11 is about so much more than my ‘To-Do’ list and the thankless demands at my day job.  A moment to think about the truly important things in life, like family and friends and the gift of another day.  I felt better after that moment of silence on the radio, pensive and mournful for the people who lost their lives on 9/11, but refocused and better prepared to start my day.

My mantra is, and always has been, to appreciate the little things…the hugs, the “I love you’s,” a kind gesture from someone, a beautiful day, etc.  Not a day goes by where I do not hug my children, tell them I love them, and spend quality time with them – it doesn’t matter what else is going on in my life, they come first.  Same goes with my husband…we aren’t afraid to say “I love you” 20 times a day – and we mean it.  My family and friends know how cherished they are, even if we don’t get a chance to talk every day.  It’s who I am, who I have always been, but maybe 9/11 has made it a bit more magnified. At least for today (if not for always), be kind.  Appreciate the magic that happens amongst the mundane (for example, I had a deer run in front of my car this morning in the middle of my traffic nightmare – in a regular commute, I would have missed it.  Not only that, but I got extra time in the car with my daughter before dropping her off – time spent singing songs and hearing her say things like “Big truck scare me.” “School bus, mama!” and “That’s a tree!”).

So, take a break today and have your own moment of silence…it might just be what you need.  I will be back this week to talk about my aforementioned “laundry list,” but today it just didn’t seem right. Peace…