Hi there and happy Wednesday! I had meant to be back earlier this week and wrote a long post about cleaning my house that was so epically boring I had to delete it. Instead, I drew a little picture for you. This is where I’ve been.
In the mornings when I go running, the third block is the hardest. I am not sure why, but it’s true. The fourth block is fine. At that point, I feel like I could run forever (or at least make it back to the house), but on the third block I start thinking about how dumb running is and wonder if I just sat down on the sidewalk would my husband come find me and possibly bring me some water.
So the good news is that I figured it out. It’s just the third block. It happens every single time. It has nothing to do with my drive or commitment to exercising or how out of shape I’m in or whether I am really suited to running after all. It’s just the third block. When I get there, I have to switch gears and stop thinking about getting to the end of the street or finishing the rest of that mile or even how I’m going to get home. I start to think about making it to the next light, the white SUV parked at the next house, the stop sign. I have to take baby steps.
I think I’ve realized that this is where I’m at metaphorically, too. Quilt Market is next month, and while this is the first year that I actually have a fabric company, some of the next steps are still pretty overwhelming. There are patterns to finish, distributors to meet, new collections of artwork to design — and as usual, there are more ideas than time. I’ve been working steadily away, but the reality of how much is left always sinks in right about now and what started out as elation at all-of-these-great-ideas begins to feel a lot like being buried alive in work-that-will-never-be-done! (Pardon the drama.)
Like I said, it’s the third block. I can’t take much of what I am thinking or feeling very seriously right now. All I can do is break every thing down into itty bitty little tasks — tiny sprints from here onto the next thing. And I know I’ll make it. Block four will be the victory lap. What about you? Anyone else feeling a bit buried at the moment? How do you cope?
Filed under Site News.
Tagged with motivation, you are here.
By Kelly
September 21, 2011
Hi there! I am so sorry I didn’t get a chance to announce the winners of the postcard giveaway on Friday. It’s been a bit of a scramble over here. We had our entire family over this weekend, and it was a rush to get everything ready.
This morning I wrote everyone’s names down on paper, and we pulled two lucky winners out of the jar: Lacey and Emily! (I am going to contact Uprinting and then will get back to you with details about your postcard prizes.)
I had such a good weekend, but am really paying for it today! I think some afternoon tea is in order. (As I write this I want to cross out “afternoon tea” and put “afternoon nap” instead, but I’m trying to resist. I’ll let you know how this goes.) Hope your week is off to a good start.
Filed under Site News.
Tagged with contest, give away.
Wow, the weekend flew by! Here we are at Monday again. Last week, Uprinting.com contacted me about sponsoring a give away. I’m excited that we were able to work this out so that two lucky winners will win a set of 100 postcards. To enter, just leave a comment and I will draw two winners names by random. The deadline is midnight August 18th.
I don’t normally do sponsored posts like this, but I’ve had really good experiences with Uprinting. They are actually an L.A. based company, so I tend to think of them as my “local printer.” They have been hugely helpful with some of my rush jobs — even letting me stop by after hours to pick things up. (And in full disclosure, I’m not receiving anything for saying that. I’m just passing the give away onto you instead. I don’t do many reviews here, but I will never do any paid editorial coverage.)
So what can you do with your prize? Even if you don’t have a business you want to promote, these might make fun holiday postcards or invitations.
Here are the prize details:
- 100 Postcards for Two (2) Winners
- 5″ x 7″
- 14pt Cardstock Gloss
- No Folding
- Front Only Printing
- 2 Business Days Print Turnaround Time
- Restriction: Limited to US residents 18 years old and above only
Disclaimer:
This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, an online printing company. No compensation was given. See more information about cheap postcard printing, postcard design, and other postcard templates on UPrinting.com.
Good luck! I will announce the winners in two weeks on August 19th.
Filed under Site News.
Tagged with contest, give away.
Hello there and greetings from the land of the living! I’m still here, just a little worse for wear, but happy to be back.
I have no idea what happened there. I was chugging along towards a big deadline, and then wham! a horrible cold snuck up on me and knocked me sideways. I always marvel at people who can blog when they are sick. Unfortunately, this cold came with a crippling headache. My poor husband had to repeat himself a thousand times — “what do you want for d-i-n-n-e-r? K-e-l-l-y? K-e-l-l-y? H-e-l-l-o?” I could barely hear him from the bottom of my well.
Anyway, I’m back now. I missed you. I am going to go sit on the couch and try to wrap up a little knitting project I’ve been working on for what feels like ages. It might be just my still-kind-of-sick-but-mostly-better speed. I’ll be back soon with more. Hope your week is off to a good start!
Filed under Site News.
Last week, I took a quick detour to the library. I have been looking for some fresh business advice and wanted to round up a stack of new research materials. And then, because it’s summer and sometimes you just need to indulge in something a little lighter, I snuck down a few rows and checked out an old favorite, Feng Shui in the Garden.
I don’t even know how many times I have checked out this book from the library. I read it shortly after I moved into my first apartment — before I had a garden of any sort or even a balcony for plants. I’m not a huge believer in feng shui — at least not in terms of cultivating luck. However, so many of the principles are common sense and feel good when applied.
Things like:
- Having your back facing the window or door creates an unsettled feeling.
- Placing a mirror next to your desk doubles your workload. (When you think about it visually — it really does!)
Feng Shui in the Garden has a brief intro on feng shui and then dives in to a bunch of different gardens you could create – gardens for children, for seniors, for lovers, etc. I really love how thoughtful the author is about who will use the garden and how to tailor that space for the people who will spend time there. She also suggests spending time in each place in your home (or garden) each day– checking on things, doing little bits of tidying up and maintenance. Do you do this? I find it very soothing.
To me, this book is a very nice companion to my garden daydreaming. This time I picked it up along with a more general gardening how-to book. We do have a small balcony right now. Maybe it’s time to give this a try…
Do you have any other gardening books you would recommend? Any gardening tips — especially for container gardening?
Filed under House & Home, Site News.
Tagged with gardening, library.